Resident Evil: The Other Side
by EcoSeeker247
Summary: While playing Resident Evil 4 one day, Audrey Fagan suddenly finds herself pulled into the game itself. But what happens when not only is it her first time playing the game, but she also ends up somewhere completely unexpected? Rated T for violence and language.
1. Waking Up in Hell

All right, guys. So this is my first fanfiction ever. I've decided to write a "sucked-in" story, but I promise I'll try to make this one a little different. Such as, the main character is trying to play _Resident Evil 4_ for the first time, she doesn't end up where she thinks she'll end up, etc. I will accept constructive criticism (except for flames, of course), so if there's anything I'm doing wrong with the story, please, let me know (especially if my OC, Audrey, seems a bit like a Mary Sue, though I don't think she is, but you never know). This was an idea I had in my head for a while, so I thought, "Why not?"

**DISCLAIMER: **Audrey, Alexis, their mother, Jack (Audrey's cat), and Randy are all mine. Everyone else belongs to Capcom.

So here's the opening to "Resident Evil: The Other Side". Read and review! And enjoy!

* * *

"So tell me, Audrey," my older sister, Alexis, said to me as we rode home from Best Buy in her car, "Why would you start playing a game that's halfway into a series when you've never played the other ones before?"

She was talking about my latest trip to Best Buy, where I had finally decided to purchase _Resident Evil 4. _I stared at the cover of it, where Leon Kennedy held a pistol in his hands and wore a determined frown on his face. In the back, a group of enemies looked ready to attack him. I then moved my gaze to the Playstation 2 logo on the top. "I heard it was good," I replied, smiling, "Besides, I've always kinda been interested in the Resident Evil world."

"You would be," Alexis teased, "Just don't come crying to me if you don't understand something in the storyline."

I laughed. "Trust me, I won't," I assured her. She rolled her eyes and then muttered something about me being so sure of myself. I just shrugged.

"I've always picked up games fast. You know that."

"Don't get too cocky, little sis," Alexis warned me as we pulled into the driveway. To my disgust, standing outside was Randy, our mom's new boyfriend. I didn't like him at all and thought Mom could do so much better. _Nobody will ever replace Dad, _I thought to myself as we got out of the car. I wasn't even sure why I disliked Randy so much, but my only guess was that I just didn't trust him. I've always had trust issues with others, since I was a little girl.

"Hi, girls," Mom greeted happily, "You're back from Best Buy already?"

We nodded. "Yup," I answered, "I bought _Resident Evil 4._" I held up the game proudly.

"Just don't get obsessed with it, okay?" Randy joked, clearly trying to get on my good side. Well, I wouldn't fall for his tricks.

"I won't," I snapped, "Believe it or not, I can control how long I play a videogame, unlike you."

"Audrey!" Alexis hissed into my ear, but I ignored her.

"I'm going to try out the game now," I told the others, heading towards the front door.

"She's never liked me," I heard Randy say to Mom before I disappeared into the house, "And I don't know why." _Whatever, _I thought to myself, rolling my eyes.

When I arrived at my room, my cat, Jack, leaped off the bed and purred at me. I quickly pet him before I opened my new game and read the instruction manual. The controls were nothing like I'd expected them to be, but they seemed simple enough to pick up in a short amount of time. I stuck my memory card into slot one and then inserted the game. As I waited for it to load, someone knocked on my door.

"Audrey?" It was Mom.

"Yeah?" I called back.

"You owe Randy an apology."

I rolled my eyes to myself. "Why?" I asked.

"Because you have been very rude to him for the last two months. Just cut him some slack. I know you're upset over your father leaving, but give Randy a chance. You may even like him."

I snorted. "Yeah," I replied, "Fat chance."

"Audrey!" Mom snapped, "Just get down here and apologize. That stupid game can't be more important than accepting your possible stepfather, can it?"

"Yes, it can!"

"That's it!" my mom yelled, "Stay in that room, then, if that's what you want. And come downstairs when you're ready to act like the girl I raised!" She marched away, and I sighed with relief once I heard her walk downstairs.

_Randy can go screw himself, _I thought viciously, _He's not good enough for Mom. _I continued to think of ways to get rid of him as I waited for the game to load, which, for some reason, was taking an abnormally long time. In this time, I slowly began to feel slightly bad for my rudeness. Sure, I loved to be sarcastic, but I never wanted to intentionally hurt anyone's feelings. I didn't necessarily want to apologize to Randy, but if it made Mom and Alexis happy, then I would do so.

I got up from my bed and went to open my door only to find it…locked._ This is so fucking weird, _I thought to myself.

"Jack," I cooed to my cat, "Did you do this?"

"_Meow_," Jack replied, scratching his ears. I shrugged and tried unlocking the door again. Nothing happened.

"Mom?" I shouted, "Alexis? Randy? I'm locked in my room!" But nobody replied. They couldn't all still be outside. Could they?

Suddenly, the start menu of _Resident Evil 4 _appeared on the television screen. Leon Kennedy and Ashley Graham appeared, along with a few menu options. The top one said "New Game". Since I apparently couldn't get out of my room now, I had no choice but to try out the game. I clicked the X button, and suddenly, everything went black around me as an ominous voice announced, "_Resident Evil 4_!" and Jack meowed next to me.

* * *

Breathing. That was all I heard when I finally came to much later. I couldn't open my eyes at first; they felt heavy. But as I tossed and turned a little bit, the breathing continued. Did I always sound like I was congested? Last time I checked, I was not sick. Sure, I came down with colds and allergies every spring and fall, but I was never truly sick. That was when I realized something was wrong.

More creepy breathing. I couldn't take it anymore! Where was it coming from? I slowly forced myself to open my eyes…to a hideous monster with red eyes and razor sharp teeth.

"AHHHHH!" I screamed, instantly leaping up and backing against the wall. The monster continued to breath as if it had a really bad cold as it slowly walked towards me and bared its teeth. It was much taller than I was (about 7 feet, I gathered, which was even taller than Randy) and it had gray skin that smelled like the dead. _What the hell is this thing? _I thought to myself, terrified.

It was getting closer to me, and when I quickly looked around, I surmised that I was in a jail cell. A very narrow jail cell, apparently. I looked around for anything that could stall this creature long enough for me to get away. To my right was what looked like a medical table with all sorts of sharp instruments on it. I picked up a small axe and hurled it at the monster's arm. The arm detached from the rest of its body and flopped around on the floor. The monster stopped for a second, and I celebrated. "Yes!" I cried, pumping my fist into the air.

However, my joy turned to horror two seconds later. Just as I was making a run for it, I spotted some worm-like creatures sprouting from its shoulder. In a matter of seconds, they fused together, creating a stronger bone, which was soon covered by gray skin once again.

"Oh, hell no!" I gasped when I realized this thing had the ability to regenerate lost body parts, like a starfish. _Time to go! _I thought as I made a run for the closest exit to the jail. To my surprise, this creature could run pretty fast; it sprinted after me as I ran through the prison. It growled and extended its arms close to me in an attempt to grab me. _Holy shit! _

I found the nearest door, which was next to a garbage dump, but to my horror, it was locked. I looked over my shoulder and saw the creature getting closer to me, so I turned and bolted back the way I came, confusing it. It was then that I spotted another door that had been right next to my cell the whole time. I noticed it was high up on a platform, so I ran around to the side and climbed up it, since there were no stairs.

The monster reached for me and grabbed a hold of my leg. "Get off me!" I shouted, struggling to get out of its surprisingly strong grip. I ended up struggling with it for a while, as I felt it grab my jeans belt with its other hand in an attempt to drag me back down to its level. Unfortunately, it succeeded, and I found myself being thrown against the wall.

With a growl, the creature leaned in and bit my neck. "AHH!" I cried, throwing a punch to its head and dazing it for a second. While it was confused, I quickly climbed up the ledge again and ran through the door, locking it behind me as I left. I refused to look behind me as I ran down the stairs, stumbling and falling as I did so. The throbbing pain in my neck worsened, and I could barely feel my right leg, which was the one the monster had latched onto. _What an entrance into a game I have no clue how to play! _I thought sarcastically to myself.

I rested on the ground for a minute to recuperate and think of a plan to get out of here. How had I ended up here in the first place? Would I be able to see my family again? Would I ever get back? I stood up, using the wall as support as I limped around this new area. There was nobody around that I could ask for help, and as I continued to walk, I began to cough up a little blood. My vision faded in and out.

Everything was too quiet, I noticed. I hated the silence. "¡_Hey_!" a voice suddenly shouted, "¿_Quién es_?" I looked around. Was someone talking to me in Spanish? Admittedly, I didn't know a lot of the language; just basics from high school.

"¡_Le estoy hablando_!" the voice snapped, "¿_Quién es_?" I picked my head up to see a man staring at me and scowling. He was dressed like a soldier and carried an electric taser in his hand. Like that other creature I met in the prison, his eyes were also red.

"Uhh, I…" I started, but I never got to finish.

In that moment, the soldier turned his head and shouted in Spanish, "¡_Intrusa_!" Instantly, alarms started to ring and hordes of soldiers emerged from hiding.

"¡_Allí está!_" they shouted, pointing at me, and before I could think too clearly, I was running again. But I couldn't go back into the jail cell where that monster was. So I ended up plowing my way through the massive army that had converged on me, and one of them grabbed my already numb leg and tripped me. As I fell, I felt myself collide with another soldier's taser, which hurt like a bitch. I writhed and screamed in agony as I collapsed to the ground.

Suddenly, another, much bigger soldier emerged from a clearing, and he wielded a larger Gatling gun in his hands. _Oh, crap, _I thought as he laughed maniacally and began firing bullets at me. I turned and ran in the opposite direction, hoping that these guys would just leave me alone. _Oh, God, _I prayed, _What did I do to deserve this? Please get me out of here alive! _

A scorching heat suddenly greeted the small of my back, and I saw bullet shells land near my feet; the big soldier had caught up with me, and his bullets barely grazed my hip. "¡_Cógela_!" the soldiers shouted from behind me. I looked up just as another soldier grabbed my arm. Pain shot through my upper arm as I tried to break myself free.

"Leave me alone!" I shouted, elbowing the soldier in the face, thus freeing myself from his vise-like grip. I continued to run, and just as I was making my way up the set of stairs again, I saw a hand reach out from an inconspicuous hiding place and grab my wrist.

"Get down!" a voice ordered in English, and I happily obliged, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.

"Just stay down, kid, and wait for my signal," the voice commanded.

"Who are you?" I demanded, finally turning to face the man that had made me hide with him. He was big and muscular, if not bigger, than the soldier with the Gatling gun. He had blonde hair, wore a tight, black, short-sleeved shirt, green army pants, combat boots, and a red beret on top of his head. A scar also ran down the side of his face, breaking at his eye and then continuing from there, with another break at the mouth. He carried a machine gun in his hands.

The man shook his head. "Don't worry about who I am," he told me, "Just keep your head down." Once again, I obliged, covering my head with my arms and listening to the gunfire above me. That, along with the inhuman screams from the soldiers, as well as the sickening sound of decay and blood flow, made me want to throw up. It also made me think about how much more terrifying violence was up close. I loved action movies, but I could tell what was happening right now was going to give me nightmares for a long time. I was not going to be some action movie hero who was perfectly fine emotion-wise after living through a near-death experience.

Suddenly, the man grabbed my arm. "Come on, let's go!" he shouted, "Before more of them come back!" We dashed down the stairs again…back to the door leading to the jail cell. I stopped for a minute.

The man turned around. "What are you waiting for?" he demanded.

"I almost got killed by something in there," I told him, "No way in hell am I going back through there."

"Oh, I don't have time for this," he growled, "I don't know about you, but I'm not waiting around for those soldiers to get back."

I sighed. "Fine," I decided, following him cautiously up the stairs. He unlocked the door, and the creepy breathing greeted us again. Instinctively, I gripped the man's arms, but he shook me off.

Suddenly, the regenerating monster appeared again and glared at us with its red eyes. It seemed to remember me from before, because it suddenly growled and swiped at me, missing me and hitting the wall instead.

"Go! Jump!" the man shouted, giving me a slight push, "I'll stave off this thing as long as I can." I hesitated for a minute before leaping back down to the ground. From behind me, I heard the machine gun again and the sound of a limb being blown off. I didn't stick around to wait, though, and I kept running. The guy must've had super speed or something, because he caught up with me quickly.

"Let's move!" he cried, and we raced for the locked door from before, which was suddenly mysteriously unlocked. He pushed me through and then he followed suit, closing and locking the door on the monster.

"That door was locked before!" I gasped, "How did you unlock it?"

The man smirked. "Simple," he replied, "I just turned the lock."

"But…but…" I stammered, "It wasn't like that before!"

"You just weren't looking." He smirked, and I narrowed my eyes at him and stuck my tongue out. We walked outside in the cool night until we arrived in another building. We quietly climbed up the ladder until we emerged onto another pathway. We hiked up it silently before pushing our way through a set of double doors. Along the way, the man turned to me.

"Who are _you, _by the way?"

I hesitated in answering at first. Was this man to be trusted? He was trying to help me, but at the same time, I wasn't sure. "I'm…really confused," I replied lamely.

Before he could say anything, a swarm of soldiers suddenly appeared and surrounded us. "Follow my lead," the man whispered to me. He lifted his gun into the air and commanded, "Don't shoot! This girl is injured and I need to take her to see Lord Saddler right away."

"_Who_?" I shrieked, turning to face him again.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "You know who he is," he hissed through gritted teeth, "Just play along." I gulped and nodded, still feeling confused as hell.

He turned back to the soldiers and asked, "Can you take us to him?"

The army took one look at me, frowned, and then moved forward to lead us to whoever this Lord Saddler guy was. "Who the _hell _is Lord Saddler?" I whispered.

"Just shut up and keep walking," the man ordered, leading me by the arm. I scowled at him, wondering what his problem was and why he had such an attitude. Now that he brought up my injuries again, I felt the burn from the taser again across my chest. I clutched myself in pain and felt warmth on my leg from my own blood. I held back my tears; if this man saw me crying, he would call me out on it, which I so did not need right now. I was already upset over randomly landing here.

We continued to follow the soldiers all throughout the complex as we walked through the military base, then through some ruins, and finally up a few ladders into another building.

"Well, _Really Confused_," the man said sarcastically, "This is where I'll leave you." He dropped me off in a side room where I would be safe from the other soldiers. Just as he prepared to disappear, I ran after him.

"Whoa, wait a minute!" I cried, "What about me?"

The man smirked. "Sorry, but I've got my own business to take care of with Saddler. I don't have time to babysit," he responded, taking off before I could stop him again.

"Wait, come back!" I shouted, attempting to run after him and failing miserably. "Bastard," I muttered under my breath as I tried to look for a way out. Just as I ambled towards the door, the lights above me flickered and then shut off for good, leaving me in the pitch black. It looked like I had woken up in hell after all.


	2. Lucky Day

Hey, guys. So I just decided to go ahead and update this story. To those of you who reviewed, thank you. I appreciate it. :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Audrey is mine. Everyone else belongs to Capcom.

_Italics_-Krauser's POV

So here's the next chapter of "Resident Evil: The Other Side." Enjoy!

* * *

I counted the seconds. Then I counted the minutes. Then I counted the hours. How long would I be in this room for? Was that mysterious man with the red beret ever coming back to get me out of here? Why did he help me in the first place just to abandon me in this pitch-black void?

Nothing but silence filled the room, and I didn't want to close my eyes to sleep. The last time I had done that, I had woken up next to a hideous regenerating monster.

I hated the dark. Call me chicken, but I've never liked it and I never will. I guess you can thank a Halloween prank involving my bedroom closet, the darkness, and myself at five years old.

There had to be some sort of emergency power around in this room. I stumbled around in the dark, holding my hands out in front of me for support. Ever since I was five, I usually slept in my room with a nightlight on, so even a little bit of emergency power would be comforting. I patted the walls, hoping to find something that resembled a switch. Suddenly, my hand came across something round, and with a new hope, I felt around it a little bit. After a minute, I decided it felt like a switch to me, so I pressed it. Red lights flickered before they dimly lit the small room, and I smiled to myself in victory. Up ahead, I noticed the door was locked, and there was no key that went with it. _Damn it, _I thought, _is this punishment for crapping all over Randy? _I pushed that thought out of my head; I needed to get out of here first.

In the corner was a cabinet full of all sorts of supplies, so I decided to check it out. Cobwebs, spiders, and dust greeted me as soon as I opened it, but they did not stop me from tossing the contents of the drawers on the floor. Pots, pans, knives…and a grenade? I took the small weapon carefully into my hand and examined it. What was it doing here? _Did that man with the beret drop this by accident? _I wondered to myself. I went to tuck it into my pocket…only to realize it wouldn't fit in my jeans.

Suddenly, I got an idea in my head. _Maybe I can just blow up the door, _I thought. However, I was nervous; I'd never used a grenade before. I didn't know _how _to use one. _Crap, I'm screwed. I'll just toss it and see what happens. _

I quickly said a silent prayer and threw the grenade towards the door, and then I ducked and covered my head. My heart pounded in the few more seconds of silence that followed.

_Boom! _With a deafening bang, the door blew off its hinges and flew towards me. I screamed a little bit and kept my head down as I heard the door crash into the table I was hiding next to. I quickly rolled out of the way once the table began to split in half from the force, and I could feel wooden splinters land in my hair and neck. _There's no way those freaky soldiers didn't hear that just now, _I thought as I got up and tried to shake out as many splinters as I could. Once I was situated, I climbed over the now destroyed table and arrived outside again.

Up ahead was another pathway that led to another room with a hole in the floor. Peering into it quickly, I noticed the ladder, so I climbed down it carefully until I arrived at another large, mountainous area. An elevator was situated to my right, and a set of stairs to my left. I decided to take the stairs, just to see what was around. I pushed my way through another metal door…only to find a dead end. Up ahead were three cages, which I wasn't sure what they were doing there. _Time to turn around, _I thought. But as I jogged up the stairs again, I collapsed. A searing pain suddenly crossed the back of my neck. "Damn splinters," I muttered out loud under my breath.

The elevator rumbled and suddenly carried me horizontally across the abyss, and once again, I passed the three cages. When I arrived at the other side, I quickly got off the elevator and walked through another passageway and double doors. _There sure are a lot of passageways and double doors, _I thought to myself, rolling my eyes. Gingerly, I pushed my way through the doors.

"Welcome, strangah!" a voice suddenly boomed, making me jump and scream a little bit.

"Shit!" I mumbled, glancing up at the source of the voice. The first thing I noticed was the obnoxiously bright blue flame from a lantern, and then I took note of the man himself. He looked like all the other soldiers, except he wore layers and layers of purple jackets, with a blue scarf covering his mouth and only revealing his eyes. Something bulged out of his back.

"Got a lot of good things on sale, strangah!" he continued, opening his jackets and revealing a whole lot of weapons and healing supplies. I caught my breath as I studied everything.

"Where the _hell _did you get all those guns?" I demanded.

"I've got connections, strangah," the weird, Merchant-type guy replied, winking at me, "So, what are ya buyin'?"

I widened my eyes. "Oh!" I gasped, "I'm sorry, but I don't have any money." _Mom must've conveniently forgotten to give me my allowance, _I thought, _Oh, well. _

The Merchant sighed. "All right, then," he huffed, "What are ya sellin'?"

"Nothing!" I replied, "I don't have anything worth selling!" _Fucking weirdo! _

The Merchant laughed. "I'd say that necklace you're wearing would be pretty nice to sell, eh?" he replied, "I'll buy it at a high price."

"No!" I snapped in protest, suddenly clutching the necklace that Dad had given me when I was seven.

"What's going on here?" a new voice called out from above us. I looked up to see shadows along the dimly lit walls, and the sound of footsteps grew louder and louder. I felt my heart skip a beat in fear and I backed against the wall, unable to move. I held my breath the whole time.

The Merchant grinned and said, "Well, that's my cue to get the hell out of here! See ya around, strangah!" And with that, he grabbed a grenade from his pocket and slammed it to the ground, creating a brilliant white flash with a bang. I quickly threw my arm over my eyes to avoid being blinded. Once the flash disappeared, I lowered my arm, even though my eyes stung and grew wet with tears.

The smoke cleared away, and I spotted two men standing in front of me and staring at me in surprise. One of them was none other than the man with the red beret. "Shit," I mumbled to myself as I got up and started to run for the exit.

"Stop that girl!" the man with a slight accent commanded, and the other man with the red beret chased after me. I was almost to the door when he grabbed me by the arms, knocked me to the ground, and then flipped me around so that I was facing him. He pinned himself on top of me and held a knife to my head.

"You again!" he snapped, "What are you doing here? How the hell did you get out of that room?"

I glared up at him and replied, "No way in hell was I staying in that room once the lights went off!"

He frowned and snapped, "You just don't know when to stop getting in the middle of things, do you?"

"Well, _excuse me _for wanting to clear some of my confusion! I don't know how I got here! I don't know what I'm even _doing _here! Now, put that knife away and get the hell off of me!" For a minute, he tightened his grip on the knife, and I wondered if he was going to just stab me for my rudeness.

"Bring her here!" the other man commanded, waving his hand. The man with the red beret scowled at me, yanked me off of the ground, and dragged me towards the man in the throne chair. "I should have just left you to those soldiers out there," he whispered into my ear, which made me scowl at him again. I could tell we were going to get along.

"You Lord Saddler?" I addressed the man in the purple robe. He nodded.

"Yes. My name is Osmund Saddler," Saddler responded, "How do you know who I am?"

I glanced over my shoulder and replied, "Mr. Sunshine over here dropped your name earlier, that's how." I could feel the heat of his glare on my neck.

"She's with me," Mr. Sunshine snapped, "I found her and she was injured."

Saddler nodded and then turned back to me. "Are you American, too?" he asked.

I nodded tersely. "Yeah," I said, "Why? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Shut up," Mr. Sunshine whispered into my ear, but I waved him away nonchalantly. Saddler merely chuckled.

"You _are_ quite…shall we say…temperamental," he deduced, "What's your name?"

"_Really Confused_," I snarled, earning a death glare from both men. No way was I giving my name just yet until I knew what Saddler wanted.

"Anyway," he continued, "Go now, and I'll reward you handsomely if you carry out your mission. If not, then…well…you know the drill. Ha ha ha.

"Remember, though, young lady," he addressed me, "This is a private matter, so you are not to discuss this with anyone else. Understood?"

"It's not like I know anybody else here," I muttered, which caused Mr. Sunshine to tighten his grip on me.

"Yes, Lord Saddler," he replied, bowing slightly, so I did the same so I wouldn't come across as even more disrespectful than I already was. Saddler then turned to leave, and the two of us climbed up the staircase, rode an elevator up to higher grounds, and then trudged our way through a throne room.

Once we were out the door, he rounded on me and snapped, "You have nerve not only showing up here uninvited, but disrespecting Lord Saddler! I'm trying to get on his good side and you're doing nothing but slowing me down. You're on your own with this one." He began to walk away. _Great, he's leaving me again! _I thought angrily, _Does he do this a lot? _

"Well, fine!" I snapped after him, "I'll just find my own way out of this hell! I don't need you!" I watched as he left, and then I began to make my way down the hallway. I silently cursed myself for not having a map of this place. I was sure the game had one for the player, but since I was apparently in the game now, I was screwed. I walked for the next five minutes until I opened the door ahead of me to reveal a room full of metal grates.

I opened the door on the other side and I found myself in a room tinted with yellow light. "¡_Allí esta_!" voices suddenly shouted, and I looked up to see a swarm of similar soldiers from before converging on me.

_Oh, no, not these guys again, _I thought with dread. Suddenly, all the pain I had felt, in my neck and my leg, returned, and I felt faint as I began to run. I managed to get pretty far before some of them grabbed me. I threw what punches and kicks I could and was able to fend some of them off as I continued to run. "Leave me alone!" I bellowed, hoping that they would just get the message and back off. But they continued to yell and try to grab me.

I dashed through another door and up a flight of stairs, holding my neck the whole time as the monster's bite was now killing me. "¡_Allí_!" voices cried, and with horror, I noticed the soldiers had burst through the door and now they were chasing me.

_You'd think Saddler would have told them I'm sort of working for him, _I thought as I ran, _I guess not_.

Suddenly, I tripped and fell, falling face flat on a metal platform. The soldiers surrounded me and spoke to each other in rapid Spanish. They all looked the same: pale skin and red eyes. And they leered at me. What was going to happen now?

From out of nowhere, the sound of a machine gun alerted everyone to a new presence. The soldiers lifted their gaze away from me and looked up, too late realizing they were about to meet their death. I kept my head down, however, feeling the bullet shells hit me on my neck and back. As the soldiers screamed and more started to show up, I looked up and saw none other than…Mr. Sunshine. _Holy shit! _I thought, _He came back for me? _

"Come on!" he yelled at me, grabbing my arm and pulling me with him. We sprinted through the hallway while the army of soldiers chased us. Gunfire and explosions resonated behind us, which made me duck my head to avoid getting blasted.

We continued to run until we emerged into a safe room that the soldiers appeared to have no knowledge about. We both panted and he reloaded his machine gun.

"Thanks," I mumbled, not looking at him and resting on the chair in front of me, "But why did you do that? You left me on my own again, remember?"

"I didn't do it for _you_," Mr. Sunshine replied, smirking, "I did it for Saddler. He wants to keep you alive at all costs, for whatever strange reason."

"He must not care about his men, then," I muttered, "Since you were able to shoot at them without repercussions." He shrugged, and I continued to massage my leg, which was starting to regain some feeling after running so much.

"So what's your name, kid?" he asked me, "I know it's not _Really Confused_, which you clearly seem to be."

I looked up at him, scowled, and replied, "Ha ha, very funny. It's Fagan. Audrey Fagan." My neck throbbed as I spoke.

Mr. Sunshine nodded, and then he held his hand out to shake mine, which made me realize I still didn't know his name. "The name's Krauser," he replied, "Jack Krauser." I shook his hand, whereas he crushed mine in his iron grip. I gasped, even though I didn't mean to, which made Krauser laugh.

"_Not _funny!" I snapped, "I'm already in enough pain today, thank you very much."

Krauser let my comment slide and asked, "Are you hurt badly?"

I winced and nodded. "Worse than you can imagine," I replied, "This has been the worst day of my life so far." I uncrossed my legs and sighed, "And you haven't exactly made it better."

Krauser then threw his head back and laughed again. "I've saved you twice now and you're still trying to pick a fight with me?" he asked.

"You left me in that pitch black room for hours! What am I supposed to do, thank you?"

"You could try being a little nicer to me. I didn't have to help you back there."

"You shouldn't have helped me at all!"

"You need to learn more self-defense moves. And learn how to use a weapon!"

I glared at him. "Well, _sorry _if my combat knowledge is a little nonexistent!" I snarled at him, suddenly feeling a searing pain in my neck. I cried out.

"You should take it easy for now," Krauser told me a little bit more softly, "Until we get help for your neck."

"I don't need your help," I hissed, clutching my neck.

"Why are you being so _difficult _right now?" he snapped, "You want to be that way? Fine. I'll just drag you with me to the extraction point." And with that, he grabbed me and yanked me close behind him as we made our way through more hallways.

"Put me down!" I demanded, "I can walk on my own two feet!"

Krauser smirked. "No, you can't," he reminded me, "You're only just getting the feeling back in your leg now."

"You asshole!" I snapped as he continued to carry me. This was just my lucky day, wasn't it?

* * *

_I was told that as soon as I was finished with my business with Saddler, I was to return to the extraction point, which was near the edge of the island I was now on. The chopper would pick me up and then I would decide what to do from there. I hadn't expected an obstacle to get in the way of my mission, however. An obstacle in the form of the girl I was carrying in my arms now. _

_ Audrey. She said her name was Audrey. Who was she? And how the hell did I get stuck dragging her with me on my mission? We weren't exactly on good terms at the moment; we hated each other. We both knew it, too. As of now, she was asleep, having tired herself out from yelling at me to put her down. She was being unnecessarily difficult and I didn't know why. _

_ I arrived outside once more, at the extraction point, where my chopper waited for me. As I approached it, a familiar face leaned over to greet me. I knew that face all too well; it was one that I had known for two years now. _

_ "Good work, Krauser," my boss, Albert Wesker, complimented me, smiling, even through the sunglasses he always wore, "Our plan should be well underway now that we have Saddler's trust." I nodded in gratitude. _

_ Suddenly, Wesker looked down at Audrey, who was still asleep. "You have a stowaway, I see?" he asked, "Who is she?" _

_ "I found her wandering around near Saddler's meeting room," I explained, "She looked confused, so I brought her with me. She's injured, too." I pulled back some of her hair, exposing the bite mark on her neck. _

_ "Leave her in the back," Wesker ordered, "We'll deal with her when we get back to the headquarters." I nodded, climbed into the helicopter, and fastened my seatbelt as the chopper lifted into the sky, the wings roaring above me._


	3. Lying Down With the Dogs

I'm back with Chapter Three of "Resident Evil: The Other Side"! Sorry if this chapter is a little shorter than the previous ones, but it's pretty much just a transition chapter. Enjoy! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Audrey is mine. Everyone else belongs to Capcom.

_Italics- _Krauser's POV

_

* * *

_

_The needle slowly sank into Audrey's flesh, in the black pus that now surrounded the bite mark on her neck. She was still asleep, so luckily, she didn't cry out; she merely stirred for a second before relaxing once again. After two more minutes, Wesker pulled the needle out and stashed it back into a container. I went to reach for her, but Wesker stopped me. "Leave her, Krauser," he commanded, "We've got work to do." _

_I followed him out of the laboratory, down a few hallways, and into a side room, where another young woman accompanied us. She sat silently in her chair, playing with the gun in her holster. She had short, black hair, black high heels, and a long, sleeveless, flowing red dress. She looked up as soon as we entered the room. _

_"You must be Jack Krauser," she began in a calm, smooth voice, "My name is Ada Wong. Wesker told me I'm going to accompany you on your mission." _

_Wesker nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's true," he explained, "I've known Agent Wong for a long time now, so I trust you two will carry out this mission with no problem." I didn't say anything, but I merely stared at Ada as the two of them glanced at each other. _

_"Now, you both know your parts in this, right?" Wesker reminded us. We nodded. _

_"We don't want any…accidents occurring." _

_"Of course not," Ada answered calmly, "We need that sample, and we're going to get it. I've been in touch with Luis Sera already and he said he was going to try to steal the sample for us." _

_"Excellent," Wesker said, "This is definitely a right step for Umbrella. Thank you, Agent Wong." Ada nodded, but I noticed it was a quick nod. And she was frowning. What was up with that? _

_"Once we make all the necessary arrangements, we shall begin our plans," our boss told us, "Make me proud!" He grinned, got up, and then walked out of the room. _

_At first, neither Ada nor I said anything, but then Ada broke the silence. "So how did you find Wesker?" she asked. _

_"Two years ago," I replied, "I was in need of his help, and he saved me. You?" _

_Ada looked away. "Need to know basis," was all she said, which instantly fueled my suspicions about her. I couldn't help it; I was just a naturally paranoid person. _

_"Need to know?" I echoed, "Why?" _

_"I don't know," the other agent replied, "It just is, I guess. Look, I've got to go. I've got some business to take care of. So, I'll see you around." She winked at me, got up from her chair, and sprinted out of the room in her high heels. _How the hell does she run in those things? _I thought, scratching my head. _

_Figuring I had nothing else to do, I got up and left the room. I decided to go back upstairs and check on Audrey, and I wondered if she was awake yet. That virus Wesker injected into her must have taken effect by now. At the same time, why did I give a rat's ass about her? She hated me and I hated her, so I shouldn't have been wasting my time. _Hell, I'll just go anyway, _I thought, _It can't hurt, can it?

* * *

The second time I woke up, I found myself in yet another unfamiliar place. I was on a lab table, surrounded by all sorts of needles, scalpels, and whatnot. Jars filled with different samples surrounded me, which instantly piqued my curiosity. But first, I instinctively raised my hand to my neck, which no longer felt painful like it had before. While the black bite marks were still there (and would probably leave scars), they no longer pulsed and put me through a lot of pain.

Suddenly, like a dream, I remembered a pricking sensation in my neck; I had been out of it at the time, but I was sure it was reminiscent of a doctor giving me a vaccine for something. I held my neck again, and I ran my finger along a tiny bump. _Probably clotted blood, _I thought.

I leaped down from the lab table and took a look around at the different samples. Many of them looked like viruses, but they weren't like anything I'd seen before. These ones had very unique genetic complexes. My instincts told me I should have been scared at that point, but I was too curious to be scared.

"Like what you see?" a voice suddenly asked out of nowhere. I jumped and glanced over at the man who had addressed me. He was a little bit taller than me, with light blond hair, all-black clothing, and sunglasses over his eyes. _Why is he wearing those indoors? _I wondered to myself.

"I guess so," I replied, "But what exactly is all of this for?"

Mr. Sunglasses stepped forward and gestured to the jars of viruses. "You're looking at the future of this country," he explained smoothly, "The future of this world. Humans will no longer be weak and spineless."

_Whoa, there, _I thought, _That's pretty deep. _"But we're still human," I argued.

"We've been around for a long time, young lady. I'd say it's time for another evolution."

_Okay, Darwin, _I couldn't help but think to myself, _Relax. _I shook my head and asked, "If you don't mind me asking, who are you?"

The man shook his head and chuckled a little bit. "My, my, I forgot to introduce myself," he laughed, "Albert Wesker." He reached for my hand and shook it.

"And you are?" he pressed, looking at me insistently.

"Audrey Fagan," I replied breathlessly.

"Ahh, yes. The stowaway from Saddler's island."

Saddler. Island. That reminded me. "Where's Krauser?" I asked.

"Downstairs. He should be back in a little bit. You can chat with him then. In the meantime, let me see your neck."

I balked for a minute. "Why?" I demanded.

"Just let me see it," Wesker insisted. Sighing, I reluctantly tilted my neck to the side, exposing the injured area. With a gloved hand, he reached out and ran his fingers along the bite marks. Although there was no more pain, the injury still felt tender, so I winced and squeezed my eyes shut tight.

"Hmm. Not bad," he decided after three minutes, "The virus appears to have taken effect now." I gasped.

"Whoa!" I cried, "You injected me with one of those viruses?"

"Just a trace amount," Wesker answered, "To heal your injuries."

"What else is this virus going to do to me?" I should have been angrier, but I was too tired from my ordeal to truly snap back into my usual bitchy self.

"You may feel a little…shall we say…_off balance _for a little bit, but that's all. I assure you."

"Why do I feel like you're leaving something out?" I growled, subconsciously clutching my neck once again.

Wesker just stared at me and replied, "One day, when the time is right, you will understand. The new Umbrella will change this world, and you will embrace it."

That one word, _new_, caught my attention. "You say 'New Umbrella'," I said, "What happened to the old one?" Not that I had any clue what Umbrella was. Hopefully Wesker would explain a little bit about it.

"You're familiar with Umbrella Pharmaceutical, of course." I slowly shook my head.

"You're not?" he asked dubiously, "Interesting."

"I've never heard of Umbrella," I told him, "It doesn't exist." _Maybe it's just a Resident Evil universe thing, _I thought.

Wesker looked genuinely surprised (or at least, I think he did) before chuckling. "Of course it exists," he assured me, "But unfortunately, we have fallen into a state of disrepair. Our name has been blackened in society, and ever since then, we have been working hard to reclaim our reputation."

"What happened?" I asked, now genuinely curious.

"You ask a lot of questions," Wesker mused, raising his fingers to his chin, "I think it would be better if you stayed with us for a while. You know, until you get your footing straight and you feel completely healed." I wasn't sure why he was suddenly so hush-hush, but I nodded anyway. I figured I could stay with Wesker and Krauser until I found a way to get home.

"Ahh, Krauser!" Wesker announced, waving someone into the room, "We were just talking about you."

Krauser marched into the room and stared at me. "How's she holding up with the virus?" he asked.

"Good. She is healing at a pretty fast rate."

"Too bad," Krauser replied, glaring at me. I returned the angry look; he obviously hadn't forgotten how hostile we were towards each other.

"I guess you'd rather I stay in a coma for the rest of my life, huh?" I shot at him.

"If it keeps me from hearing you bitch at me all the time, then yeah," Krauser snapped.

Wesker snapped his fingers, and we both instantly shut up. "I've just gotten an idea," he announced, "Why don't you let Audrey join you on your mission?"

We both gasped. "What?" Krauser growled.

"I'm serious. She knows about our cause, so why not?"

"I'll help you restore your new Umbrella, if that's what you're getting at," I suggested.

Wesker grinned. "You read my mind," he said, "I'll let you know what happens when I've made the necessary arrangements. Just get some rest now, Audrey. You, Krauser, and Agent Wong have a lot of work to do."

* * *

_Audrey shot another death glare at me before leaving the room. As soon as she was gone, I turned to Wesker. "Well, that was easy," he mused. _

_"Tell me about it," I scoffed, "What did you say to her?"_

_"That Umbrella has had an unfortunate incident where nobody trusts us anymore. And that we want to get back on the public's good side." _

_I had to laugh. "Please! That's not true at all!" _

_"I know," Wesker assured me, grinning wickedly once again, "But she doesn't."_

* * *

Keep reading to find out what happens next! Sorry if this story is moving a little slow, but I promise it'll pick up in the next few chapters. Don't forget to read and review! :)


	4. Stories and Changes

This may be the last update for a while. I know how I'm going to plan out the rest of this story, but I want to have time to flesh out some ideas and make it really good. So here's chapter four. Enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER: **Audrey is mine. Everyone else belongs to Capcom.

**Bold- **Ada's POV

_Italics- _Dream Sequence

* * *

_Everything was quiet as I began dreaming of my family. Alexis, Mom, and Dad were there, smiling at me as if there were no other concerns in the world. That was how things used to be. _

_ "Audrey!" Dad cried, waving to me from the top of a hill. I pictured myself running; however, time was slowing down around me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. _

_ "Audrey!" Mom and Alexis shouted this time, joining Dad. At least Randy wasn't anywhere in the picture! That was how it was supposed to be, not with my parents divorcing and my mom finding a bastard for a boyfriend. _

_ Getting back to the dream-like state, I was still slowing down, and as my father continued to call out to me in slow-motion, his voice was soon replaced by a loud horn reminiscent of SpongeBob's alarm clock… _

* * *

_TOOOOOOOOT! _The piercing sound right next to my ear was enough to make me jump out of bed right away. Screaming a little bit, I immediately leaped out of bed, throwing the covers off of me in a hurried fashion. Looking around with a wide look in my eyes, I tried to find the source of the sound and wondered where the fire was. Never in my life had I been woken up in such a military-style fashion.

"Rise and shine, kid," a familiar voice greeted, and I turned to see Jack Krauser at the foot of my bed, holding a horn in his hand and trying not to laugh. _Krauser! _I thought angrily, grabbing my pillow in my bunk and throwing it at him.

"Krauser, you asshole!" I cursed, "Do you know what time it is?"

"Five thirty in the morning, Fagan."

"Go away and let me go back to sleep."

"Not a chance."

Sighing, I stood up, making sure not to hit my head on the bunk above me. Folding my arms and facing the large soldier in front of me, I continued, "Well, since you've rudely interrupted my sleep, tell me what you're doing here at this hour."

"Enough with the attitude. Wesker sent me to get you. He has to ask you some questions."

I tilted my head to the side and laughed sharply. "Oh, so you're Wesker's bitch, huh?" I replied, "I've only known you two for a day and I already see how this is going to be."

"Keep talking, kid, and I'll put you back on that island where I found you!"

"Try it." I narrowed my eyes and flexed my fingers as menacingly as I could, even though Krauser and I both knew I wouldn't be able to hurt a fly.

"Let's go!" And before I could protest, Krauser was already throwing me over his shoulder once more.

"And again with the shoulder riding," I mumbled, "Will you at least let me get dressed first?"

"We're halfway there already." And indeed, I looked up to see that we were near Wesker's office already.

"Put me down!" I demanded, and to my surprise, Krauser did…by slamming me to the ground.

"Not like that!" I grumbled, which finally set Krauser off.

"Listen!" he snapped, "I don't like you, and you don't like me. Let's just end it there."

"Fine by me," I muttered, pushing past the soldier and heading into Albert Wesker's office. I had to admit that he intimidated me a little bit, a first in my book. _I _was usually the tough one; _I _was the one people were afraid of. But now that it was reversed, I didn't know what to make of it.

Wesker looked up as soon as Krauser and I entered the office, and I swallowed my slight fear. I refused to show any sort of emotion until I knew what was going on.

"Sleep well, Miss Fagan?" he asked, taking in my slightly puffy eyes.

Glaring at Krauser again, I snapped, "I would have if he hadn't gotten me up like a soldier." The muscular man shook his fist at me out of Wesker's line of sight.

"Well, then," Wesker continued, "I suppose he told you why he was bringing you here." I nodded.

"I just need to know where you're from," he explained, "You had no knowledge about Umbrella from what I saw the other day."

I shifted my eyes back and forth, trying to think of something to say. How could I explain my situation? _Well, I sort of got sucked into my videogame. _Yeah, that would go over really well with these two men. So instead, I lied, "I'm from Saddler's island. I was being held captive there by some of the soldiers, and I was in the middle of escaping when Krauser found me." I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, hoping that this story would pass the test. Unfortunately, lying was something I was good at, and I wasn't proud of it.

Krauser didn't buy it, though. "Liar," he hissed, "You looked like you didn't know what the hell was going on."

"Only because you found me when I was running away from them! You didn't see what happened before I showed you the jail cell I was in."

"I'm really starting to regret bringing you back here, you know."

Snapping his fingers again, Wesker silence both of us. "Thank you, Miss Fagan," he thanked me, "And now, it's time to run some tests on you."

I narrowed my eyes. "Tests?" I echoed, "What tests?"

"Remember the virus I injected into you yesterday?"

I nodded.

"I want to see how it's progressed during the night. Just follow us." And grabbing me roughly by the arm, Krauser escorted me down the hallway as we followed Wesker. What would happen from here, I didn't know.

After punching a code into the door in front of us, Wesker led me and Krauser back into the testing center. He approached a large capsule in the corner of the room and pushed some more buttons on the side. As the door to the capsule opened, steam raced out of it, and I stared into it as Wesker and Krauser faced me. "Really?" I scoffed, "I have to go in there?"

"I need a full body scan of you," Wesker explained.

"Just get in, kid," Krauser snapped, pushing me inside and closing the door behind me. I looked around in anticipation, wondering what Wesker meant by "tests". Two minutes later, however, I realized exactly what he meant by "tests".

From the top of the capsule, a strange, blue mist suddenly rained down on me, and it smelled so terrible that I had to hold my nose in order to stop myself from breathing it in. On a monitor in the far corner of the room, I spotted an X-Ray of myself, and I realized that the mist was scanning through my night clothes. Slowly but surely, my DNA was appearing, and I recognized the various double helixes from my high school biology class. What I didn't expect, however, was the rapid mutations taking place inside of me, which scared me, if I did say so myself.

"Interesting," I heard Wesker mumble from the other side, "Very interesting."

"W-Wesker," I choked, feeling my face start to turn red from lack of oxygen.

"It seems she is undergoing a rapid mutation as well," Wesker continued as if I hadn't gasped for air, "Granted, there will be pain for a couple of weeks, but I'm sure she will move on from it."

"Wesker," I repeated again, clutching my throat. And then, in a last attempt to save myself, I began bashing the glass with my fist, knowing very well that I could cut myself. Better that than the alternative, right?

However, Wesker seemed to realize I was still in the capsule, so he pushed another button, causing the blue mist to stop pouring into the area and opening the door ahead of me. Staggering out of there and collapsing to the floor, I coughed and took deep breaths. Krauser didn't move forward to help me, and to be honest, I didn't expect him to. Instead, he stood where he was, staring down at me apathetically.

"You are so weak," he muttered, which did not go unnoticed by me. However, I chose not to say anything about it. Not yet, anyway.

Looking up from the X-Ray, Wesker gestured to me. "Come look at this, Miss Fagan," he said, moving aside so that Krauser and I could look. I nearly gasped at what I saw. My original DNA was still there, but in between the double helixes was something new, something I had never seen before: strands of red and blue.

"What…?" I gasped, "What…_is _this? What did you do to me?"

Reaching for a sterile knife, Wesker tested it to see how sharp it was before running it across my arm, making a rather deep gash in the process. "Ouch!" I cried, holding my bleeding arm.

"Watch that cut in a couple of hours," he said, "And you'll see."

Pushing past him and Krauser, I began to make my way out of the lab once more so that I could go back to sleep. Krauser had rudely barged into my room before, so any more hours of sleep would be fine by me.

As soon as I returned to my bunk, I slammed the door shut behind me and willed myself to go back to sleep. _This is just a dream, _I told myself, _Just a crappy dream. When I wake up, I'll be back in my own bed at home. _And with that thought in mind, I closed my eyes and fell back into a restless slumber.

* * *

Normally, whenever I woke up at home, the sunlight streaming in through my window would be the culprit. So when I woke up seven hours later and noticed that there wasn't any sunlight (or anything, for that matter), I knew something was wrong.

Gasping, I sat up in bed, looking around as I held my arm up to my face. The cut from a few hours ago was gone for the most part, but a scar still remained, though even that was fading with time. Throwing the covers off of me once more, I leaped out of bed, dashed towards the bathroom, and began to clean myself up a little bit, taking off my blue-stained night clothes and changing into a T-shirt and sweatpants. Everything fit too big, so I assumed these belonged to Krauser. _Whatever, _I thought, going out of the room to find Wesker once more. I didn't want to run into Krauser again if I could help it.

Just like earlier that morning, I found Wesker hovered over something, so I knocked at the door to let him know I was there. "Miss Fagan," he greeted, spinning around in his chair to face me, "You're awake again. How's your arm?"

Without saying a word, I stepped forward and showed him the healed cut. He ran a gloved hand over it, which made me shiver a little bit.

"Perfect," he mumbled, "It seems to have worked on you as well." Reaching for another scalpel this time, Wesker made a similar cut on his arm, making me cringe a little bit at the sight of blood.

"Look here," he ordered, and I forced myself to watch as the gash healed just like mine did, only his was much faster.

"It's a regenerative property," he explained, "It is common in everyone injected with this experimental virus. I've named it the 'W-virus' after myself, of course."

"The W-virus?" I echoed. Wesker nodded, but seeing as how he and Krauser were both secretive yesterday, I wasn't about to ask the questions that I wanted to ask.

Suddenly, he got up from his chair and practically _teleported _over to where I was. One second, he was by his desk, the next, he was pretty much on top of me, causing me to crouch down to the ground in shock.

"Holy shit," I gasped, "How the hell did you do that?"

"It's quite simple," Wesker explained, backing off a little bit, "I can see the world at any frame rate I want to. The faster the frame rate, the faster I can move. Watch." Picking myself up, I began to sprint to the other side of the lab, but due to his super speed, Wesker caught up with me and stood in front of me with a grin on his face.

"Whoa," I whispered, "That's so cool!" Then, after thinking for a second, I added, "Can Krauser do that, too?"

"To a certain extent."

_That was awesome! _I thought, _Maybe being here wasn't such a bad idea after all. _

"You will get used to being here, Miss Fagan," Wesker assured me, "Krauser's been with me for two years and he's proven to be a valuable asset. So has Agent Wong."

"How did you meet the two of them?" I asked.

Once again, Wesker conveniently avoided my questions, which made me feel suspicious once more. I could tell that asking Wesker or Krauser questions would be like pulling teeth: a total waste of time. So I decided to just leave. Along the way, I had the good fortune of running into Krauser head on. Falling to the ground, I looked up at the larger soldier, who was dressed in all black with his signature red beret and scowl whenever I even so much as glanced at him.

"Watch where you're going," he snapped, pushing me out of the way slightly as he approached Wesker's lab.

"You watch it," I mumbled just loud enough for him to hear, rubbing my burning shoulder in the process.

Krauser stopped in his tracks, whirled around to face me, and growled, "What did you say?"

"I _said_, 'You watch it'!" I replied a little louder.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" the muscular man demanded.

I had to laugh. "Oh, _excuse _me," I said, "Sorry I'm not letting you talk to me like I'm a piece of garbage."

At first, Krauser didn't even want to reply to that, but when he did, all he said was, "Really? Take a look in the mirror." Before I could say anything, he was already gone, leaving me pouting and wondering what he was talking about.

* * *

_**Two months later…**_

"No!" Krauser snapped at me, "You're supposed to aim it over there!" He pointed to the target on the wall, which I had tried to shoot at for the last five minutes.

I reloaded my gun and sighed. "I told you," I fumed, "I've never worked for a secret agency before! And my combat knowledge is zip. So deal with it!"

"Oh, give me that thing!" he growled, marching over and yanking the gun from out of my hand.

"Can't you see I'm trying to learn?" I asked, my cheeks turning red with fury, "I'm so sure when you learned this for the first time, you didn't pick it up in a few minutes, either, so don't give me that."

Two months had gone by since I joined up with Krauser, Wesker, and Ada, and I decided that if I was going to be working for Wesker, I would have to learn hand-to-hand and armed combat. Krauser never disguised his strong dislike for me, either. Every time we were even in the same room together, we could never talk civilly without jumping down each other's throats. Wesker found all of this amusing, however.

"Don't you two ever tire of arguing with each other?" he asked as he walked by with a coffee cup in his hands.

"Nope," Krauser and I answered in unison. We then glowered at each other as I snatched my gun back.

Wesker shook his head, laughing a little bit, as he walked away to talk to another one of his agents.

"I don't see why Wesker wants to keep you so badly," Krauser mumbled, "Because I sure don't."

I glared at him. "Yeah?" I challenged, "Well, that's Wesker's decision, not mine. So there's nothing you can do about it."

"A very _poor _decision…" Krauser whispered under his breath. I faced him again.

"What's your problem?" I demanded.

The other agent widened his eyes. "What's _my _problem?" he echoed, "What's _yours_? You've been difficult from day one!"

I faltered for a minute. "That's just who I am," I replied, even though Krauser wouldn't buy it. Instead, I pointed the gun at the target again and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew through the air and managed to strike just beneath the target.

"Not bad, Fagan," Krauser complimented, "Now that you've gotten past the bitching at me part."

I turned and smirked at him. "Just a temporary truce," I assured him, "But thanks." I wiped my forehead of the beads of sweat that were forming there.

"_Greetings, Krauser,_" Wesker's voice poured from Krauser's pager, "_If you've finished arguing with Miss Fagan, come see me in my office immediately. Bring her along, too._"

"Yes, Wesker," Krauser replied, "Right away. Come on, let's go."

"Go ahead without me," I told him, "I'll meet you there." He stared at me suspiciously, but walked away anyway. As soon as he was gone, I turned my attention to a dartboard I had noticed when I first walked into the room. I remembered Alexis and I used to play darts all the time when we were kids. Alexis. She must have been worried sick about me. Her, Mom, and even _Randy. _I had been missing for two months now! Had they gone to the police? Were there "Missing Teenager" fliers of me posted on telephone poles? I didn't want to think about it. I had to find a way to get home soon!

I walked over to the dartboard and began removing the darts so that I could play for a few minutes. I figured that this belonged to Krauser, since his name was written in marker on the back. Before I could throw any darts, however, the bulls-eye caught my attention as well. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a photograph of someone. Someone that I had seen before. Even though the picture was covered in holes, I still recognized the blonde hair, the determined frown, and those blue eyes.

"Leon Kennedy?" I whispered, remembering the face I had seen on the front cover of _Resident Evil 4. _What was his picture doing as the bulls-eye of this dartboard?

"Audrey!" Krauser's voice snapped from behind me, "Are you coming? What are you staring at?" I didn't respond, and I saw his gaze move away from me and to the dartboard.

"Oh," he snorted, "Yeah." He grabbed the darts out of my hand and began aiming them towards Leon's picture. Most of them hit the bulls-eye.

"Why do you have Leon Kennedy as the center target?" I blurted out, gasping and covering my mouth two seconds later after realizing what I had done. Krauser turned to face me with a rage that I had never seen in him before. To tell you the truth, it was quite terrifying.

"How do you know Leon?" he demanded, glaring at me.

_If I told you, you wouldn't believe me, _I thought, so instead, I answered, "I-I don't. I just heard the name somewhere, that's all."

"_Where_?"

"I don't know!" I insisted, "I probably heard Agent Wong mention his name or something."

Krauser threw the remaining darts on the floor, grabbed my shoulders, and growled, "Listen to me, Fagan. Leon is scum. He's fighting against us. He doesn't understand that Umbrella is leading a good cause."

"But I thought everyone liked Umbrella!"

"Not Leon. He thinks he's saving the world, but he's only making it worse. Don't feel sorry for the guy." He let go of me and beckoned me to follow him out of the room.

"You're taking this pretty personally," I commented once we neared Wesker's office.

"Don't worry about it," the agent said dismissively, waving his hand.

"Everything's set," Wesker announced to us as we sat down, "You two are free to begin your mission tomorrow."

"What about Agent Wong?" I asked.

"She will begin hers as soon as you two are finished with yours."

"Thank you, Wesker," Krauser thanked him, "We won't let you down."

"I will keep in touch with all of you through your communicators. Are they in order?"

I held mine up. "Got it," I announced.

"Rest up tonight. You both will need it."

* * *

Later on that night, I practiced my armed combat while I prepared myself for this harrowing mission we were about to embark on. It would be dangerous, which made me a little nervous; I was always a daredevil at home, but I'd never tried _kidnapping the President's daughter _before! If we were caught…I didn't want to think about it.

_Bam! Bam! Bam! _The blast of my handgun echoed in my ears, giving me a little bit of a headache, but Krauser said I would get used to it after a while.

Krauser. He was way too defensive over the whole Leon situation. I admit I shouldn't have blurted out his name, but I couldn't help it. _Something definitely happened between them, _I thought, _And I'm going to find out what. _

"Hey, Audrey!" Krauser called, knocking on the door, "Are you almost ready yet? We're leaving in twelve hours!"

"Almost as ready as you are!" I replied, rolling my eyes to myself. _Which is not at all, _I thought.

I tightened my robe around myself; I had just gotten out of the shower and I was about to go to sleep.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

"If you want to," I said, and I heard the clicking of the door opening. As soon as Krauser stepped inside, he marched over to me and looked me in the eyes.

"Let's get something straight right now," he started, "This is _my _mission. Wesker's just letting you tag along for the ride. So do me a favor and don't stand in my way."

"HA!" I exclaimed, "I don't think so, Mr. Bossy. Wesker assigned this to _both _of us. We both kidnap the President's daughter for Saddler, we both find the sample, and we _both _get the credit!"

"Well, you're really determined, aren't you?"

"I'm not here for nothing, you know. Wesker wants me to help Umbrella, so I am. Isn't that enough?"

"I'm never going to hear the end of it from you, am I?"

I smirked. "No, you're not."

"You're impossible." Krauser rolled his eyes and walked out of the room once again. As soon as he was gone, I changed into a pair of pajamas I had found in the corner of the room. As I crawled into bed, I tried to quell my nervousness. _In twelve hours, I will commit the biggest crime of my life! _I reflected as I closed my eyes, _What would my family think if I ever tried this in real life? _

Sleep did not come easily to me that night, so when I woke up again twelve hours later, I was _still _nervous. I took another quick shower and changed into a black, short-sleeved T-shirt, black shorts, and short boots. I tied my hair into a high ponytail and strapped a belt around my waist. In the belt, I slipped my handgun, a few first-aid supplies, and two grenades. Since I was so nervous, I choked down a granola bar I had stashed in my room.

Krauser was waiting for me downstairs as I got myself situated. "Well, it took you long enough," he commented as I stumbled down the stairs.

"You're not funny," I snapped back tiredly, "Aren't you nervous like I am?"

He shook his head. "Not in the slightest." _Of course not, _I thought viciously.

"Make me proud!" Wesker called to us again as we left and climbed into one of the company cars. Krauser took over the wheel and drove while I checked to make sure we had all our supplies.

Of course, it had taken me a long time to adjust to the fact that the United States had a different president. President Graham and his daughter, Ashley. She was a college student attending a university in Massachusetts at this time, and we had gotten word that she was about to head home for vacation. Perfect.

This also meant I was stuck in the car with Krauser for almost seven hours. "Listen," I began, "If we're going to pull this off, we need to stop arguing with each other."

"Finally!" Krauser replied, "I've been waiting for you to say that, since you're always the instigator."

"I am not! I woke up having no idea where I was! You couldn't have expected me to just take it with a grain of salt."

"How did you _get _here, anyway?"

I paused. Once again, he wouldn't believe me if I told him, so I just shrugged. "I don't know," I replied, even though my answer had some truth to it.

"I'm willing to stop arguing if you are. So are you?"

I sighed. "Yes, I am." We shook hands, and then there was silence once again.

"Leon was my partner a few years ago," Krauser explained three hours later, "We went to South America to investigate reports of BOWs there. Of course, later, I found out that Leon was really on a secret mission for the president. He was supposed to completely eradicate the virus from that area. And I was pretty much just tagging along for the ride."

"Hmm, I wonder where I've heard _that _before…" I muttered under my breath, but Krauser continued as if he hadn't heard me.

"There was a girl we met. Manuela Hidalgo. And she was infected with the virus. Her powers were amazing! And Leon made her feel bad about them afterwards. He failed to see how she was capable of changing the world. She was strong, and she grew stronger the longer we stuck around with her. It wasn't only that; I was forced to leave the military because my arm was injured down there. So, now do you see why Leon is our enemy?"

I didn't reply at first, only letting this story sink in. When I was finished thinking about it, I said, "That's terrible."

"So that's why we have to stomp out our enemies."

"Got it," I replied, settling back in my seat. _If Leon did all these terrible things, why was I supposed to be playing as him in the game originally? _I thought to myself.

Four hours later, we arrived in Massachusetts, and to our fortune, we spotted Ashley Graham. She was walking down the street and was flanked by two body guards. "Let's go," Krauser said to me. I nodded and we both hopped out of the car.

"Give us the girl!" Krauser demanded, pointing his machine gun at the two guards. The two of them couldn't see our faces due to our masks, but they pointed their guns at us anyway.

I reached forward and tried to grab Ashley, but the guards knocked me out of the way. That didn't stop me; I picked myself back up and knocked one of them to the ground while Krauser defeated the other one.

"Help!" Ashley cried, "Someone help us!" I looked up and watched as she began running down the street.

"Audrey!" Krauser shouted to me. I nodded and sprinted after the President's daughter, though she didn't get too far due to her tall boots. I grabbed her by the waist and also brought her crashing to the ground. Frantic footsteps approached me, and I glanced up as Krauser nodded to me and I handed Ashley over to him.

"Get off of me!" Ashley snapped, "Let me go!" She kicked and punched at Krauser, but she was no match for him. He dragged her back over to the car, and I kept my gun pressed into her back, just in case she tried to run. When we arrived back at the car, Krauser reached for a bottle and a scarf. He poured a few drops of the liquid onto the scarf and covered the President's daughter's mouth. She struggled, putting up a surprisingly good fight, while I attempted to get her into the car. We didn't want too many people seeing us carrying out this action.

Krauser finally managed to knock Ashley out five minutes later, and before we could ponder the situation any longer, we were already speeding away from the area, leaving the two dead bodyguards where they were. "Oh my God," I gasped, looking down at my hands.

"I cannot _believe _we just did that!" I continued, "We kidnapped Ashley Graham and killed those bodyguards!" I had to admit I was a little freaked out. No, scratch that. Make that _completely freaked out_!

"Anything to keep Umbrella alive," Krauser replied nonchalantly. I just stared at him for a minute before sighing.

"Is that what it's going to take in order to restore our reputation?"

"I've told you before. We're not going to let anyone stand in our way."

Suddenly, something changed; I felt weird. Different. Maybe even a little bit excited at what we had just pulled off. "Count me in!" I cried, a smile forming on my face.

Krauser smirked at me. "With Wesker, it's not so hard to get pulled into his cause," he explained, "He's a very determined man."

"Yeah, I can tell."

We drove to a secluded area, where a small jet waited for us. Three men dressed in monk outfits greeted us, and in rapid Spanish, they hurried us onto the plane. Ashley remained knocked out the whole time, which I was relieved about.

The plane took us across the Atlantic for another seven-hour ride back to Spain, but I didn't recognize the area we were arriving in. It looked like a village of some sort, but since it was late at night, nobody was awake. Instead, the three monks directed us through some doors and passageways until we arrived at a church. Waiting for us on the other side was none other than Lord Saddler.

"You did it," he commented, clapping his hands and smiling at us, "I knew you would pull this task off. Bring the girl here." I handed Ashley over to Saddler and then stepped back to watch one of the monks. He took a needle out of his pocket, and the small syringe contained a purple blob that I had never seen before.

"Soon, she will fall under our spell," Saddler whispered, "And so will the rest of the world."

* * *

** It was time. I could tell. Because Wesker had just called me on my communicator not too long ago and informed me that Krauser and Audrey completed their mission. Guess it was time for me to begin my part. **

** Before I did, however, I remembered the chaos reigning throughout Washington, D.C, over President Graham's missing daughter. I would have been remiss not to explain what I knew about Ashley Graham's whereabouts, so I hopped in front of my special computer and typed up an anonymous letter to the government. **

** "Perhaps you may have figured it out already, but Ashley Graham is being held in a village in Spain. Here are the exact coordinates of the location. Anonymous." I provided the information necessary for them to track down the location of the village. **

** Suddenly, my communicator burst with static again, and another voice appeared, this time not being from Wesker. "Remember, Agent Wong," it told me, "Don't forget to retrieve the sample! This is very important!" **

** I sighed and closed my eyes for a minute. Rubbing my temples, I replied, "I won't. Over and out!" I disconnected the call and began yet another dangerous mission in the field: to keep my agenda and motives a secret.**


	5. The Beginning

I was wrong. I've decided to post the next chapter after all. So here's chapter five! _Resident Evil 4 _will finally factor into this story now. Enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER: **Audrey is mine. Everyone else belongs to Capcom.

_Italics- _Krauser's POV

**Bold- **Ada's POV

_**Bold and Italics- **_Third-person POV

* * *

_"You two have done well," Saddler complimented us, "And for that, I shall reward you. Come here, Krauser." I stepped forward and held out my left arm, the one that had been injured in South America. A month ago, Wesker had told me he had given Audrey the same virus he had given me, in order to treat my arm. Now, I wondered what Saddler was going to do. _

_ One of the monks stepped forward with a syringe in his hand, and I noticed that there was a purple blob just like the one that had been injected into Ashley. _Las Plagas, _I realized. I felt a thrill of excitement course through me; to have such power, like Manuela Hidalgo did, was one of my main goals. _Take that, Leon, _I thought as I watched the monk inject the Plagas into my arm. At first, there was a little pain, but since Wesker's virus had already somewhat healed my arm, the sensation passed quickly. From next to me, I could see Audrey watching us with wide eyes. _

_ I felt convulsions run through my arm as the parasite settled itself, but this soon came to pass. I glanced at Audrey again, and she was staring from me to my arm. "How do you feel?" she asked. _

_ "Just great," I told her, flexing my arm, "It's almost like South America never happened." _

_ Saddler chuckled a little bit. "You're next," he said, turning to her. At first, she seemed a little hesitant; she was already rattled from kidnapping Ashley. But I could also see there was something else in her, too: curiosity. I could tell she wanted power, too, like I did, so she stepped forward and allowed the monk to inject her, too. She didn't react as well to it as I did, though; she began to shake and even cough up some blood. I rested a hand on her shoulder to steady her, but she stumbled to the side, away from me. _

_ "She'll get used to it," Saddler assured me, "Anyway, you have proven yourselves worthy. I see that you are capable of possessing true power. Welcome to our ranks." The Los Illuminados leader shook my hand, and Audrey's, too, when she finally got over the injection. The monks nodded and followed Saddler out of the church. Where they were going, we didn't know, as long as everything was going according to plan. I had to find a way to spy on them without being caught. I was sure my new powers could help out with that somehow. _

* * *

From downstairs, I watched as the monks dragged Ashley upstairs and locked her in a side room. While I waited for Krauser, I also took a look around the church. Everything looked so depressing and, no offense, dirty. Of course, that may have been because I was still feeling off-kilter from Las Plagas. Perhaps that, mixed with Wesker's virus, was what made me cough up blood. I shuddered.

"Audrey?" Krauser called from behind me. I stopped staring out the window for a second to see him move closer to me. He was studying his arm after receiving the same Plagas that I had.

"I think I'm going to be sick," I told him.

"Well, try not to throw up on me if you can help it," he teased. I scowled at him.

"You…" I started, but trailed off, "I wonder if Ada began her mission yet."

"I talked to Wesker a little while ago. She's on her way now." I sighed, and then walked over to the pews, where I sat down, folded my hands on the back of the seat in front of me, lowered my head, and began to pray. Church and religion really weren't a big part of my life, but it was comforting to me to pray every now and then. I prayed that I would find my family again and get home safely. I never thought I would be stuck in another universe, let alone a videogame, with a person that I really couldn't stand, yet was forced to get along with for my boss's sake.

"What are you _doing_?" he asked. I lifted my head up again and glared at him.

"Taking a nap," I replied sarcastically, "What does it look like I'm doing?"

Krauser narrowed his eyes again, which reminded me of the deal we made. "Sorry," I added quickly.

"You don't look like the type to pray. I know I'm not."

I shrugged. "It's just something I do every now and then." I smiled. "You should try it."

"Never." He took out his trusty knife, stared at it, and then moved forward to sit next to me in the pews. We both stared silently at the Los Illuminados insignia, and over time, the excitement of our day finally took its toll on me. I found myself nodding off, fighting to keep my eyes open. I didn't want to be surrounded by darkness again. Not yet.

"Jack?" I began, thinking about how awkward it was using Krauser's first name, "What's going to happen to us once we get the sample? Will Wesker still need us anymore?" I yawned as I said this.

"He'd better," the other agent said, "After everything I did for him over the last two years."

"Like what?"

"For Umbrella." And that was enough of a response. Soon, I realized I just couldn't stay awake anymore, and I closed my eyes, took some deep breaths, and began to dream of the adventures ahead of us.

* * *

**As soon as I recognized the village from the pictures, I knew I was in the right place. My high heels sank into the cool, autumn ground as I ran and avoided angry villagers. I had just reached a secluded hiding place when I heard my communicator beep. I pressed a button on the side, and Wesker's face popped up. **

** "**_**So I see you've managed to arrive in the village on time**_**," he announced. **

** "Yes," I replied, "But nobody remembered to roll out my red carpet." Of course, there was somehow always time for me to have a sense of humor. **

** "**_**The villagers are all being controlled. They automatically attack any intruders. Ring the church bell. That should quiet them down for a while.**_**" **

** I smirked. "Hmm. Sounds like they're obedient boys and girls." **

** "**_**Unfortunately, time is not a luxury we have... Gather as much information as you can about the parasites and finish off this little tour**_**."** **He hung up, and suddenly, I heard a gunshot. When I looked up, I saw a familiar face in the distance. **

_**Leon, **_**I thought to myself. Yes, he had arrived just a little while ago after I leaked Ashley's location to the government. It figures that they would pick him for this mission. He and I had survived the Raccoon City disaster, after all. He was more than capable of neutralizing a few angry villagers. Needless to say, however, I had to remain hidden. **

** Not that that mattered to the villagers. Many of them started swinging axes and rakes towards me, which I had to quickly dodge. My Blacktail Handgun came in handy here for headshots. However, the way the villagers took damage wasn't like anything I'd seen in Raccoon City; they were much smarter and more resilient. I needed to pump them all full of lead before they finally succumbed to their wounds and disintegrated into a pile of sludge. **_**Eww, **_**I thought to myself. **

** My heels sank in the mud again as I raced through the pueblo, taking out any locals that stood in my way. From my right, I watched Leon hide out in a large, two-story house. If the villagers didn't greet me enough, they were sure giving **_**him **_**one hell of a welcome. It was then that I realized why he had gone to hide. Another villager suddenly appeared, and he was wearing a sack over his head and carrying a chainsaw. **_**Shit, **_**I thought, **_**I hope Leon's okay. **_**There was no time to worry about that, though. **

** As I fought my way through hordes of villagers, I spotted something shiny on one of the roofs of a nearby house. Fortunately, Leon was causing enough of a distraction; by hiding in that house, most of the enemies were pounding on the door, including Dr. Salvador, and trying to break in. I reached into my pocket, pulled out another gun, and shot a grappling hook out of the end, which pulled me up to the roof. I realized the shiny object was a key, so I grabbed it and then jumped back down to normal heights.**

** Up ahead was a door with a similar insignia on it, so I bolted towards it, throwing off more villagers, turned the key, and ran into the room. I sighed in relief once I managed to lock the door behind me. **_**Whoa, **_**I thought, **_**I hope Leon will hold up until I ring the church bell. **_

* * *

When I opened my eyes, it was already the next day. I looked up and saw that Krauser had fallen asleep as well, and I was resting my head on his lap. "Oh!" I gasped, quickly sitting up and rubbing sleep out of my eyes. The sky outside looked gray and foggy, and when I looked down, I saw why: there was a huge lake in the distance. For an instant, I could have sworn I saw something moving in the water, but then I shook my head and decided it must have been my imagination.

"See anything interesting out there?" Krauser suddenly asked from behind me, and when I turned around, he was standing very close to me.

"Holy shit," I muttered, "When did you wake up?"

"Just now," he replied.

"Do you have super speed or something? How did you get here so fast?"

Before Krauser could answer, pounding footsteps above us suddenly caught our attention, and we watched as a swarm of villagers that looked like the soldiers from Saddler's island rushed past us and out the church doors. "What the hell?" Krauser whispered.

"It's Ada," I replied, "It's got to be her."

"Come on!" Krauser shouted, and we quickly ran back to the pews, gathered our belongings and stepped into the cool, foggy morning. What we saw surprised us; villagers ran past us and down a passageway that led through a cemetery. They were shouting to each other in Spanish and handing each other weapons. At that moment, Krauser's communicator beeped. He took it out of his pocket and we both noticed Wesker pop up on the screen.

"_In case you haven't guessed already, Agent Wong has arrived in the village_," he informed us. We glanced at each other and nodded.

"_I feel I must also notify you that there is a third party involved as well. Leon Scott Kennedy has been sent here to rescue the President's daughter._" This time, I glanced at Krauser and could feel him tense up at this news.

"Oh, great," he muttered, "Leon's going to screw up our plans, as always. Now what?"

"_I'm sure the villagers will have something in mind for him, so I wouldn't worry too much. You two, however, have a lot of work to do. You know your mission_." Wesker disconnected the call.

"So now what do we do?" I asked, taking my gun out of its holster.

"Well, we need to spy on Saddler and the rest of the cult," Krauser explained, "So we can see what they're up to. I can take care of that. You can go keep Leon company."

"Instead of just leaving him to the villagers, like Wesker said?"

"You can try and throw him off a little bit. I would go, but he thinks I died in a helicopter crash two years ago."

"Ahh," I said.

"If you go now, you may be able to catch up with him. Remember, he's our enemy."

I rolled my eyes. "More like _your _personal enemy," I muttered under my breath.

Krauser sighed. "Just go," he said, giving me a slight push, "I'll go see what Saddler's up to. We'll keep in touch." And just like that, he disappeared into the fog once again. I watched him leave, and then it dawned on me that I was alone once again in an unfamiliar videogame setting. Where was I even supposed to begin?

_All the villagers ran through that cemetery, so that way is my best bet, _I thought, silently beginning to run down the hill that would hopefully lead me to the village.

* * *

**I was surprised to find that the rest of the mission ran pretty smoothly once I locked the door behind me. While I was dealing with the Merchant in front of me, my communicator beeped again, this time coming from Krauser. **

** "**_**I hear you caused a stir in the pueblo**_**," he said, teasing me. **

** "You could say that," I replied, "What's your current position?" **

** "**_**In the church. I'm going to spy on Saddler and the cult and see what their plans are. I've sent Audrey to go spy on Leon.**_**" **

** At first, I didn't reply. When I found my voice again, I whispered, "Do you really think that's a good idea?" **

** "**_**They'll be fine. Leon won't get in our way**_**." I felt uneasy about this, but decided to go along with it anyway so as not to arouse suspicion from anyone. I hung up from Krauser, finished dealing with the Merchant, and continued on. After climbing down a ladder and making my way through some underground passageways, I emerged into a cemetery, where more villagers greeted me. Up ahead was the church, but when I tried to open the door, I found it was locked. **_**Figures, **_**I thought. So after exploring the area around the church for a few minutes, I finally found a circular key that fit perfectly into the door. Of course, I had to battle more villagers and a woman with a chainsaw to get it, but I still managed to get in the church. **

** Upstairs, I heard someone crying. **_**Ashley, **_**I thought, feeling a little bit of regret over her situation. Nonetheless, I made my way upstairs after neutralizing some more villagers. Three lights of different colors were situated in front of me, and I noticed they reflected the Los Illuminados insignia all different ways. I carefully rotated the lights until they matched the center insignia, which was upside down. Above me, gears clanked, and I covered my ears just as the church bell rang. **

* * *

_**Back in the pueblo, the villagers stopped attacking Leon Scott Kennedy as the church bell began to ring. They all dropped their weapons and began walking in a trance towards the church. **_

_** "Tenemos que ir," one whispered under his breath, his eyes wide. **_

_** "Necesitamos a rezar," another one added. **_

_** "Lord Saddler," a third one chanted. As they all walked away, Leon kept his gun drawn and blinked in confusion. **_

_** "Heh. Where's everyone going?" he asked out loud, "Bingo?"**_


	6. Through the Fog

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story so far! It's knowing that you guys are enjoying my story that makes me want to keep writing. Plus, this story has been pretty fun to write so far! So here's Chapter Six of "Resident Evil: The Other Side". This is probably the longest chapter of this story for now. So read, review, and have fun! Thanks again! :D

**DISCLAIMER: **Audrey is mine. Everyone else belongs to Capcom. (I know you guys understand the disclaimer by now, but I don't want any problems with this site later on.)

_**Bold and Italics- **_Third-person POV

* * *

**This is bad, **_**Leon thought, staring at a body that was roasting over the open fire pit. He reached for his communicator and called Ingrid Hunnigan, his support. **_

_** "Hunnigan, I have some bad news," he reported, "I've confirmed the body of an officer. Something's happened to the people here." **_

_** "Leon, you need to get out of there," Hunnigan told the agent, "Look for a tower. Follow the trail near it." **_

_** "Got it." Leon disconnected the call and, having finished exploring the village, found the path next to the tower Hunnigan was talking about. He had no choice but to go that way, it seemed; all the other doors wouldn't budge. **_**Here goes nothing, **_**he thought, pushing his way through the double doors. **_

* * *

By the time I got to the village, I noticed everything was gone, even Leon. The silence was so unnerving that even the sound of guns would have comforted me in those moments. Since I hadn't really gotten to see the village the night before, I decided to look around a little bit. Like the church, everything here was filthy, even the cows and chickens. But the various barrels and boxes hid pretty valuable items, so I made sure to break open every wooden object I could find. _Splinters! Again! _I thought angrily, clutching my wrist, though I felt I had sustained enough injuries in this universe in order to just be used to it.

I had heard the church bell ring a little while ago, so maybe the villagers went to pray or something. _Thank God, _I thought in relief, _I won't have to fight anybody for now. _I jogged around the small pueblo and tried every door in the area to see where they would lead. All of them were locked. _Damn it. And the door I just went through is also locked. Now what? _

There was another, unfamiliar path up ahead of me, so I decided to go there and see what it was all about. _Krauser didn't want to run around. That's why he sent me to do this. _More double doors greeted me, and I made my way through them only to emerge onto a farm on the other side. "Moo!" another cow bellowed, accidentally alerting the villagers there of my presence. They all turned to face me and raised their rakes and axes.

"¡_Allí_!" they shouted, motioning to each other and running towards me. _Guess my luck just ran out, huh? _

The last time I had fought enemies like this, I was defenseless; at least now I had a gun. I wasn't the best shot in the world, but I managed to scrape by. I plowed my way through the villagers, shooting and kicking those who were too close to me. I watched as they decayed into…well, into _nothing_. It was sick, and I tried not to vomit.

Another villager swung her rake at me, striking me across the chest. "Ahh!" I cried, falling to the ground. She moved closer to me and tried grabbing my leg, but I quickly shot a bullet at her and she let me go. As she stumbled backwards, more enemies converged on me. _How did Leon and Ada take out all these guys by themselves? _I thought in amazement. I looked around as the villagers made a point to try and attack me, and then I began shooting bullet after bullet at them, reloading as fast as I could and trying to remember what Krauser had shown me.

_Krauser. How come he doesn't have to risk his life like this? _

There was no time to ponder that. As soon as I had somehow managed to take out all the enemies, I continued onwards, picking up any items that might have been useful and checking to see which doors opened. One of them wouldn't budge, but I found another set of doors that would. The path led downhill, so, bending my knees slightly and spreading my hands out at my sides, I walked down the hill sideways. Up ahead, I could make out three villagers staring at me, one of which had a long trench coat and a Santa Claus-like beard, only it was black. I stopped walking for a minute and just stared right back at him; I was determined to win this staring contest. I even flexed my fingers and narrowed my eyes in an attempt to scare him off. Well, I wasn't sure if it was that or if he was bored of me already, because he turned and left without saying a word. _HA! _

After continuing to walk downhill (and noticing large, broken pieces of rocks), I came across a large building in the distance, as well as the three villagers I had just encountered. They were nowhere near the house yet, so I decided to try and sneak in another way. A vent that sloped underground caught my attention, so as I broke the glass by jumping inside (which, take it from me, hurt like hell), I climbed up some stairs until I came across a loose plank in the floor. A banging noise from far away caught my attention, as well as footsteps. I peered through the crack in the floor to see Leon himself wandering around this room. His foot covered the hole I was peeking through as he opened a cabinet right above my head. I couldn't believe it; I was _so close _to Leon Scott Kennedy! I was a little nervous as well; what did he think he was doing trying to mess with Saddler and the others?

Leon's gun went off above me, and I heard a faint explosion. What could that have been? The other banging resumed, and once the blond agent disappeared, I began trying to loosen the planks enough to burst through the floor. But then voices stopped me, and I strained my ears to listen.

"Ahh!" one voice cried with a somewhat thick Spanish accent, "A little rough, don't you think? You're…not like them?"

"No," I heard Leon reply, "You?"

The other man sighed. "Okay," he said, "I have only one, very important question: got a smoke?" Despite my current situation, I had to laugh a little bit.

"Got gum," Leon answered. That was when I heard it. More, thudding footsteps shook the floor above me. I peered through the peephole again and recognized the three villagers plus the guy I had a staring contest with. They crossed from this room to the room where Leon and the other man were resting and talking.

"Perfect," the Spanish man grumbled, "The Big Cheese."

"What?" Leon gasped. From where I was hiding, I assumed the "Big Cheese" was the man in the trench coat. I had to admit he was a little intimidating, especially after what I saw next. Leon charged towards him and attempted to kick him, but the Big Cheese grabbed his leg and then _flipped him upside down in the air_! _Holy shit, _I thought, trying not to gasp. Leon crashed back down to the ground, onto the other man, unfortunately sending pieces of wood flying everywhere.

"Ooh," the agent gasped, and then I didn't hear anymore from him.

"Let's go," the Big Cheese commanded the other two villagers, and with little effort, they lifted Leon and the other man, who I secretly dubbed Mr. Smokes for now, and carried them out of the house. When they were out of my line of sight, I finally burst my way through the floor, shook off some loose wood, and ran after the large group. When I arrived outside again, I caught sight of Ada, who was also watching them leave. She looked extremely disappointed, and I was sure I did, too. We met each other's gazes for an instant, and then Agent Wong nodded and took off. At that moment, my communicator beeped.

"_Did you find Leon yet?_" Krauser asked from the other end.

"I just saw him get carried away by the Big Cheese," I told him.

"_Ahh. You must mean Bitores Mendez, the village chief. I don't care what you do, Audrey. Just find a way to catch up with Leon!_" He hung up, and I thought to myself, _I'm trying. Luck just isn't on my side right now. _And so I retraced my steps back the way I had come, hoping to find some way to reach Leon.

* * *

_**"Feeble humans," Saddler muttered to himself as he stared down at an unconscious Leon, "Let us give you our power." Just like with Krauser, Audrey, and Ashley the night before, one of the monks approached the young agent and injected a purple blob into his neck. Saddler laughed. **_

_** "Soon, you will be unable to resist this intoxicating power." And just like that, he disappeared, and Leon's eyes snapped open. He looked around for an instant and realized he was in another room completely. The Spaniard he had met before was still unconscious, and they were tied together, back to back. **_

_** "Hey!" Leon whispered, "Hey! Wake up." The other man grunted and then opened his eyes. **_

_** "Aye aye aye," the Spaniard groaned, "Crawl out of one hole, and into another." **_

_** "You want to tell me what's going on around here?"**_

_** "¿Americano, sí? Now, what brings a bloke like you to this part of the world?" **_

_** Leon wriggled in his constraints in an attempt to break free, but he only ended causing a little pain for the other man. **_

_** "Easy! Whoever you are." **_

_** "My name's Leon. I came here looking for this girl. Have you seen her?" He held up a picture of Ashley Graham. **_

_** The other man scoffed. "What are you supposed to be, a cop or something?" He didn't wait for a response. **_

_** "Nah, you don't look the type." **_

_** "Maybe." **_

_** "Okay, let me guess: she's the President's daughter?" **_

_** Leon scoffed. "That's too good for a guess. Want to start explaining?" **_

_** "Psychic powers." Leon didn't laugh. **_

_** "Nah, just kidding with you, amigo," the Spaniard added, "I overheard one of the villagers talking something about the President's daughter in the church." **_

_** "And who might you be?" **_

_** "Me llamo Luis Sera. I used to be a cop in Madrid. Now I'm just a good for nothing guy, who happens to be quite the ladies' man." **_

**A former cop, huh? **_**Leon thought to himself, **_**Just like me. **_**"Why'd you quit?" **_

_** "Heh. Policia…you put your life of the line; nobody really appreciates you enough for it. Being a hero isn't what it's cracked up to be anymore." **_

_** "I used to be a cop myself. Only for a day, though." **_

_** "I thought I was bad!" **_

_** "Somehow, I managed to get myself involved with the incident in Raccoon City, on my first day in the force." **_

_** "That is the incident with the viral outbreak, right? I think I might have seen a sample of the virus in the lab at my department." **_

_** Suddenly, before either man could respond, they heard a noise that sounded as if metal was being dragged across the floor. To their horror, that was exactly what it was. A bloodied-up villager limped as he dragged a large axe into the room. To Leon, he looked like he'd been through enough. **_

_** "Te voy a matar," the villager growled at the two men. **_

_** "Shit," Leon cursed under his breath. **_

_** "Do something, cop!" Luis cried desperately, trying to free himself from the chains. **_

_** "After you!" Leon replied, "There's got to be a way around this." **_

_** As the villager raised the axe to slice them, Leon cried, "Now!" He and Luis rolled separate ways, allowing the axe to cut the chain in half instead of the two of them. Their would-be attacker, now enraged, charged towards Leon, but the agent was too quick for him; from where he laid, he delivered a kick to the stomach that sent the man flying back into the wall. The impact broke his neck. Leon turned to Luis, who was just sprinting out the door. **_

_** "Wait, come back!" he cried, attempting to sprint after the mysterious Spaniard, but it was no use; he was already gone. **_

* * *

_Damn you, bad luck, _I thought to myself; my mission was not going well at all. I had run into more villagers after retracing my steps, _and _I had to make sure Chief Mendez didn't see I was following him. I had also sustained more damage than I could handle, which slowed me down significantly. Nevertheless, I continued to try and find Leon.

"Remind me again why _you're _not out here taking out a whole bunch of villagers," I said to Krauser when he picked up his communicator.

I could practically hear the smirk from his end. "_Because it's fun listening to your reactions_," he answered, "_And Saddler trusts me a lot_."

"He trusts me, too, remember?"

Krauser conveniently avoided my question. "_Saddler's coming," he whispered, "I've got to go._" He quickly ended the call, and I pocketed my communicator, sighing. I continued to move through the small pueblo, where a few of the infected villagers were starting to return after what happened with the church bell. _Oh, great. _I ran as fast and as quietly as I could so that they wouldn't spot me.

Maybe there was a way to get around some of those locked doors. I approached the other set of double doors I had tried to open, yet they were still locked. _Maybe if I climb over the door, I can see what's on the other side, _I thought to myself. I stopped and studied the doors, my heart sinking as I realized they were too high up for me to climb by myself.

_I just know I'm going to regret this, _I thought five minutes later as I climbed up a few trees and crossed from one to the other. Branches snapped below my feet and I nearly lost my footing. Three minutes after that, I did regret it; more villagers spotted me, including one with a sack over his head and a chainsaw in his hand. "Fuck!" I cursed out loud as I plummeted to the ground after breaking another branch.

"¡_Cógela_!" they shouted, and they all began to surround me. From far away, I heard the whirring of the chainsaw. _Holy crap! What the hell is wrong with this place? _I picked myself up, shot a few bullets, and began to run, the villagers hot on my heels. The guy with the chainsaw was fast for his size; I suddenly heard him running right behind me.

"YAAAAAHHHH!" he cried, swinging the chainsaw at my head. _Oh my God! _I ducked my head at the last minute, narrowly missing getting beheaded. Remembering the grenades all of a sudden, I chucked one at the large group. It exploded, sending most of the enemies flying, even the chainsaw maniac, though I was sure he wasn't dead yet. I didn't stick around to find out. I spotted a large house ahead of me, so I ran inside, locked the door, and then rested my head on the wall.

As the adrenaline wore off, I broke down crying. I had to ask myself: was Umbrella really worth all this? Risking my life and constantly seeing my life flash before my eyes? I wanted to make Wesker proud, but at the same time, I didn't want to die. So many things to think about!

Before I could think about what to do next, I suddenly felt someone grab me from behind. I screamed as the attacker pinned me to the ground, then lifted me into the air, and grabbed my stomach. I reached out and kicked the man, but stopped as soon as he moved his hand up from my stomach to my throat. It was then that I spent the next minute trying to pry his hand off of me, but he was too strong.

"I remember you," he whispered in my ear, and I remembered him too: it was Mendez.

"You're working for Lord Saddler, correct?" Mendez continued in his gravelly voice. I nodded, silently pleading for him to stop choking me.

"What are you doing all the way out here? Not helping the American intruder, I hope? Not having a change of heart?"

I shook my head, my vision now blurring. Blood rushed up from my stomach. I began to shake more than ever, trying to loosen his grip on me.

"Be careful of whose side you pick," the Big Cheese warned me, "You may not meet a very pleasant end." He finally let go of me, and I collapsed to the floor, panting and gasping for oxygen as I massaged my neck. Mendez stared down at me blankly and then headed upstairs. As I tried to contain the blood in my throat, I continued to gasp for air, and then once again, I strained my ears to hear Mendez's frightening voice above my head.

"Hmm," he began, "You carry the same blood as us, it seems. Nevertheless, you're an outsider. Just remember, if you become…_unpleasant _to our eyes, you will face severe consequences." A choking sound very similar to mine echoed. Who was the chief talking to this time?

Footsteps. And then the sound of static from a communicator. "_Leon, I've been able to get some new info that might help you_," a woman's voice announced. Leon!

"Fill me in," Leon replied in a raspy voice.

"_Apparently, there's a religious cult group involved. They're called Los Illuminados_."

"Los Illuminados? That's a mouthful. Anyway, I've had an unexpected run-in with the big cheese of this village."

"_But you're okay, right?_"

"Yeah... But he could have killed me, but he let me live. And he mentioned something about me carrying the same blood as them. Whatever that means."

"_Carrying the same blood? Hmm. Interesting._"

"Anyway, there are more important things to worry about than solving riddles right now."

"_You're right. Hurry up and find that church, Leon._" And that was the end of the call.

Same blood. I was sure I knew what Mendez was talking about. Had Leon been infected with Las Plagas, too?

There was no time to ponder it, though; someone was running down the stairs as fast as lightning, and when I saw it was Mendez, I ran and hid. I didn't want to have another conversation with him. I had heard gunshots and the sound of broken glass from upstairs, and I assumed Mendez was running to see what was going on. The door up ahead flew open, and I stealthily followed him. In the distance was the same group of villagers that had attacked me and then another familiar face: a woman in a red dress. _Ada! _I watched helplessly as Ada found herself surrounded. Mendez then reached into his pocket, pulled out a tranquilizing dart, and shot it into Ada's shoulder. With a slight moan, she collapsed to the ground, unconscious. After ordering his men in Spanish, Mendez walked away with them, and I wondered where they were taking her. As they marched out of sight, I spotted a small cabin and hid behind it, watching Leon emerge from the mansion and plowing his way through the remaining angry villagers. I had to find a good opportunity to join up with him. And now wasn't it.

Leon removed a bar from the doors I had tried to climb over a while ago and pushed his way through. _So that's why the door was locked! _I thought. I immediately began following him and spotted him standing outside the door with the insignia on it. He removed a key from his pocket, unlocked the door, and went inside. _Why didn't I think to do that? _

The path was familiar to me; keeping a safe distance from the blond agent, I made my way back to the church, where I noticed the door was locked…again. Leon seemed to realize it, too, because he then started moving down a pathway to the right. Gunshots followed, which made me assume there were more villagers. Didn't they ever give up on attacking us?

_This is the view from the church, _I realized as I crossed over a rather unsafe-looking bridge. In the distance, Leon was running across the planks, jumping across large gaps and finally through a wooden door up ahead. How the hell did he do that?

Suddenly, from underneath my foot, the planks snapped, and I plunged downwards. "AHHH!" I cried, my stomach zooming up to my throat. _Oh, God, no! Please don't let this be the end! Mom, Alexis, and yes, Randy! Krauser! Wesker! Ada! _All the names of my family and coworkers rushed through my head, and I pictured all of them in my mind as best as I had could.

The air whooshed around me, and my heart beat furiously. How far down was I falling? I picked up a little speed, and then, with a bang, I hit the water. My vision faded in and out again and I felt extremely tired as I sank underwater for a second. Then, I felt my body float back up. I coughed and sputtered, shaking my soaked hair out of my eyes, but then I realized something awful: I was stranded in the middle of the lake! _I guess this is it for me, _I thought sadly, the water closing in around me again.

* * *

_**After avoiding another boulder and taking out a few more villagers, Leon trudged up another hill that overlooked the lake. In the distance, he saw something moving, so he took out his binoculars. Two villagers were moving across the lake in a boat, and they were carrying something in their hands. Upon closer inspection, Leon noticed it was the body of the other police officer. They unceremoniously dumped the corpse into the water and sailed away just as something burst from the depths of the lake and consumed the officer. "Shit," Leon muttered under his breath. **_

_** Ironically, ten minutes later, he found himself out on the lake as well, in a boat he had found by the dock. Somehow, he had ended up snagging on to the end of the lake monster he had spotted from before. In a desperate attempt to kill it, he threw multiple harpoons at it and ducked every time blood splattered onto the boat. Although it took a lot of effort, the monster finally gave into its wounds and sank to the bottom of the lake, but not before Leon narrowly missed getting dragged down with it. He quickly cut the rope away from his ankle, steadied himself, and then continued across the lake to a cabin in the distance. **_

_** By then, the agent had begun to feel sick. Groaning, he clutched his stomach and burst through the cabin door. He coughed low, hacking coughs as his adrenaline rush disappeared and a new, clammy sensation took over. He slowly collapsed to the floor, allowing darkness to swallow him up.**_


	7. Teamwork

This may just be the longest chapter of this story yet. lol. So, here it is. I'm not gonna bother labeling the different fonts anymore, since I feel like I've emphasized them so many times. You guys know who's POV belongs to what font by now. Enjoy this next chapter! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **I'm only gonna say this from now on: only Audrey is mine. There, that's a good disclaimer. :D

* * *

_**Everything was like a dream. Leon Kennedy's chest rose up and down as he slept, even though the peace was short-lived. He suddenly began to have a seizure, his eyes snapping open and his stomach twisting over and over again. In horror, he noticed the lines that were starting to form across his arms. He screamed in agony, the lines spreading from his arms to his face. His eyes turned red with blood, and a flash of light suddenly caught his attention…**_

_** A loud clap of thunder woke Leon from his sleep. He gasped as he sat up, resting his hand on the table next to him for support. He quickly checked his arms and face and was relieved when there were no lines. **_**It's okay, Leon, **_**he told himself, **_**It was just a dream. **

_** Leon looked out the window and saw it was dark outside. **_**Holy shit! How long have I been out for? **_**He instantly reached for his communicator and spoke with Hunnigan. **_

_** "Leon!" Hunnigan cried in relief, "It's been six hours since our last transmission! I was starting to get worried!" **_

_** The agent scoffed. "Don't you mean lonely?" he asked, "Anyway, I started to feel dizzy. Then I guess I must have lost consciousness." **_

_** "Lost consciousness? Maybe it has some connection to what that village chief was talking about…" **_

_** "Can't say. But I'm all right now. I'm going to continue my mission." He hung up, but just as he was about to leave the cabin, a grunting next to him drew his attention to the floor. Leon drew his gun and cautiously moved to the other side of the table. He pointed his new Red 9 Handgun everywhere until he stumbled across something unexpected. Lying on the floor was an unconscious girl that he had never seen before. She was lying in a pool of her own blood, and her mouth was hanging open. She looked to be about maybe sixteen or seventeen years old. **_**Who is she? **_**Leon thought, **_**And how did she get here? **

* * *

"Hey. Hey, wake up," a voice whispered, followed by a hand shaking me on the shoulder. I finally felt my own mind return to me as I slipped back into consciousness. My mouth tasted like iron, especially my lips, and my eyes felt bleary once again. I didn't want to open them, but as the mysterious person continued to shake me, I found I had no choice.

"Ugh," I groaned, struggling to open my eyes and slowly sitting up. When I glanced down and noticed my own blood on the floor, I suddenly remembered how I got here.

A hand had pulled me out of the lake when I was nearly out of it, and I had seen it was two more villagers, along with a corpse of a police officer. From what I remembered, the two enemies had tossed the corpse into the lake and watched as a huge monster shot up out of the water and ate it in one bite. They then had attempted to jettison me as well, but I had fought back and knocked them into the water. I then had taken over the boat and explored the lake a little bit until I found this cabin. Feeling sick once again, not only did I throw up my own blood, but I had also vomited sea water from the long time I spent keeping myself afloat in the lake.

"Hey," the person repeated again, resting his hand on my shoulder, "You okay?"

I coughed again and replied, "Ugh, what happened? How long have I been out?"

"Probably the same amount of time I have. Six hours."

Hold on. That voice sounded familiar. I finally took it upon myself to glance at the man who had woken up, and I did a double take when I saw who it was.

"My name's Leon Kennedy," Leon introduced himself, "I'm on a mission to rescue the President's daughter. Who are you?"

At first, I was tongue-tied. For one, I had finally caught up with Leon, and two, I thought about everything Krauser had told me about him. "A-Audrey Fagan," I replied, reaching out a weak hand to shake his, "It's nice to meet you, Leon." I coughed again, vomiting a new wave of disgusting sea water.

"Here," Leon said, reaching for a golden chicken egg and handing it to me, "Go on and eat it. It should help." I stared from the egg to him skeptically, but then I took small bites of the shell.

"Thanks," I mumbled. As I continued to eat, Leon and I both stood up and recuperated for a few minutes.

"So what brings you to Spain?" he asked.

I froze. _Well, your old friend Jack Krauser sent me to spy on you. You remember him from South America. Oh, and I'm working for Wesker trying to restore Umbrella, _I thought to myself. Instead, I lied, "I'm here for the same reason you are: to find Ashley Graham."

"Oh," Leon responded, "I didn't know they sent someone else."

_Crap. I'm busted if I don't come up with another lie. _"I'm with backup," I managed to fabricate at the last minute.

Leon nodded sagely. "Are you feeling better now?" he asked, noticing that I had finished eating the chicken egg. As a matter of fact, I did feel better, so I nodded.

"Come on. Let's move." We pushed our way through the door on the opposite side and noticed the sky was dark. Rain poured down on us, and a few flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder only added to the atmosphere. I unintentionally found myself clinging onto Leon's arm. He chuckled a little bit.

"Don't worry," he assured me, "It's going to be okay now. You'll see."

"I hope so," I replied, "This village has been giving me the creeps." We both held our guns in the air and opened the double doors ahead of us, preparing ourselves for whatever might be on the other side.

"So how old are you, anyway?" Leon asked me.

"Sixteen," I said, "I don't look it, I know. I get that all the time." I rolled my eyes and wiped some rain water off the back of my neck. The older agent laughed a little bit.

"So how did you end up working for a secret agency?" he asked.

I sighed. I couldn't tell him the truth, so I decided to go with explaining, "I'm not exactly sure. I was just plucked off the streets one day and taken into custody. I've been with the agency ever since." It wasn't entirely a lie, so I was pretty pleased with myself.

"What about you?" I quipped. Before he could answer, we spotted two villagers walking slowly towards us, but something was off about them. Leon pointed his gun at them, and I followed his lead. One of the men (who I learned from Leon was called a "Ganado", whatever that meant) began having a seizure, and his head jerked back and forth until it exploded. Yes, I just said _exploded_; another, more parasitic head popped out where the human head used to be, and on the end of it was a blade.

"What the hell?" I gasped, but Leon was already shooting at it without another thought.

"Aim for its head!" he shouted at me, and while he took out the first Ganado, I went for the second one, who was also starting to mutate. I followed Leon's advice and shot at its head, and to my surprise, it worked. _Leon's obviously faced something like this before, _I thought. Once both the Ganados were down, I blew some smoke away from my gun, and Leon approached me and rested his hand on my shoulder again.

"You're not a bad shot, Audrey," he complimented.

I beamed. "Thank you," I replied, "You're pretty good yourself." _You're doing good so far, Audrey, _I told myself, _Charm him so that he won't suspect a thing. _

The two of us continued across the raging river in front of us.

* * *

_The wind howled outside as Saddler escorted me back to the dock, where a few soldiers would lead me back to the island. Thunder rumbled in the sky and strokes of lightning hit the water. Saddler was crazy to think that I wanted to travel in these conditions. But I needed to keep his trust, so I just went along with it. _

_ "My men will escort you back to the island, and I will meet you there in due time," the cult leader informed me, "Are all these arrangements to your liking?" _

_ "Yes, thank you," I answered, glancing out at the stormy water again. I wondered if Saddler could read minds for an instant, because he suddenly moved to stand in front of me. _

_ "Look," he began in a surprisingly soothing manner, "Wherever your little partner is, I'm sure she is fine." _

_ "It's not _her _I'm worried about," I insisted, "I just want the mission to go smoothly." _Liar, _a voice deep, deep down inside my head taunted. I ignored it. _

_ "Well, with things the way they are, we can't be too hasty. You'd better go now and wait for me at the island." _

_ "Yes, Lord Saddler." I bowed my head, and the cult leader walked away, leaving me to the soldiers. They ushered me onto the boat, and we sailed towards the island once again. This was a foolish idea; lightning came very close to striking the boat a few times, and I held onto my beret as tightly as I could. Although I hated to admit it, I _was _a little worried about Audrey; the last time she had contacted me was six hours ago. I wondered if she found Leon yet. Or was she dead? I couldn't imagine her being the latter, as much as she irritated me. _

_ At that moment, my communicator went off, and I saw it was her. "Finally!" I snapped, "Where have you been for the last six hours?" _

_ "Aww, you actually care about me," Audrey teased, "How touching." _

_ "Don't get used to it." _

_ "Anyway, I've been nearly drowning, vomiting blood and water, and being unconscious," she replied, "I found Leon, though." _

_ I had to chuckle. "During all that, you managed to find him?" I asked, "I'm impressed. Where are you guys now?" _

_ "We're trying to get back to the church. Any word from Saddler? Or Ada?" _

_ "Not yet. I'm heading back to the island now. I'll call you if I learn anything new." _

_ "Got it." She hung up, and I settled back on the boat, glad that this mission would go on as planned. It probably could have gone on anyway, but still. All that was left now was the sound of the storm around me. _

* * *

Leon aimed his rifle at the chain that held up the last wooden box that we needed to cross over to the other side. While he did that, I surreptitiously contacted Krauser to let him know I was still alive. Six hours was a pretty long time not to hear from someone, especially in a place like this.

"Got it!" he cried triumphantly as the crate fell into the water and allowed the current to carry it so that it would complete our path. We jogged over to the crates and hopped across them to get to the lever we had seen from the ledge we were standing on. In time, I noticed that Leon was not only skilled with guns, but he was also talented with knives. He broke open every barrel in sight with just one slash from the knife, and I couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

I waited for Leon while he climbed up a ladder and pulled the lever, parting the waterfall up ahead. _Cool, _I thought.

"Uhh, Leon?" I began cautiously, "Aren't you going to climb back down?"

"Yeah," he replied with an amused grin on his face. He rested himself on the edge of the platform, grabbed it for support, and then jumped back down to my height without breaking a sweat.

"You're crazy," I told him, "You know that?" He laughed again and ushered me to follow him back across our makeshift bridge. The rain was getting heavier, and as we made our way through the waterfall, voices suddenly followed us.

"¡_Allí están_!" they boomed, aiming torches and pitchforks at us. From my left, Leon threw a grenade at them, the explosion killing most of them, but not the ones who had just arrived. I shot at the remaining stragglers, silently covering for Leon, who was just shooting something shiny above us. _These guys don't die just from one bullet? _I thought with disbelief.

"Come on!" Leon shouted to me, so I reloaded my handgun and followed him through the large tunnel up ahead. On the wall in front of us was a round insignia that looked exactly like the one Krauser and I had seen in the church.

"I've obtained an object that resembles the cult group's insignia," Leon announced to someone on a communicator.

"_Wonderful, Leon!_" a woman's voice responded, "_Head back to the church. Ashley's safety is our immediate priority!_" Leon pocketed his communicator and motioned for us to keep going.

"Who was that?" I asked him.

"Ingrid Hunnigan, my support," he explained, "She's been pretty helpful so far."

"I guess she'll be happy once we get Ashley out of here." Leon smiled and then led me over to another boat that was waiting for us. I climbed in first, and then he followed suit, gunned the engine, and piloted us through the cave. The walls were dank and murky, with water dripping down the sides and bats flying around us.

During the boat ride, Leon began out of nowhere, "I was a cop in Raccoon City six years ago. Only for one day, though."

"Raccoon City?" I echoed, my knowledge (or lack thereof) of the _Resident Evil _universe catching up with me for the first time in a long time. Neither Wesker nor Krauser had told me anything about a Raccoon City.

"You know, when the G-virus broke out and infected the entire city, turning all the citizens into zombies," Leon continued, assuming I knew what he was talking about. I _didn't _know, but I figured whatever happened had to be a big event.

"Oh," I replied, "Right. I'm sorry to hear about that."

"I joined a US government agency after that to try and bring down the Umbrella Corporation. You know about Umbrella, right?"

Now _that _I was familiar with. All too well, it seemed. Krauser's words echoed in my head as I said, "Yeah, I've heard of them. What makes you think you can take them down? I mean, they're a pretty big corporation from what I've heard. I would never even try…"

"It's been a long war, but soon, they'll be history. Actually, they already _are _history."

"What do you mean?" I asked, now fully curious. Just as Leon opened his mouth to answer, we noticed a mysterious blue light that grew as we neared it. Leon parked the boat at the dock next to us, and when we climbed back onto dry land, I remembered where I had seen that blue light before. _No, _I thought, _It can't be! _

Leon broke a barrel that was next to us and then moved around to the other side, where a familiar face greeted us.

"Welcome!" The Merchant, in all his masked glory, greeted. I remained silent, shocked that I was looking him in the eyes again. I had never expected to see him again after two months.

"Hello," Leon replied politely, "I'm here to make some bargains."

"Let's see what you've got then, strangah," the Merchant chuckled, "What are ya sellin'?" Leon reached into his pockets and pulled out a few trinkets that he had picked up along the way, many of them being jewels of all kinds.

"Is that all, strangah?"

"No," I jumped in, "I found some things, too." It was then that both men turned to face me. The Merchant's eyes turned upwards, so I assumed he was grinning underneath his scarf.

"I remember you too, lass," he told me, "You didn't have money last time." He winked, which caused me to blush.

"You two have met before?" Leon asked.

"It was nothing," I mumbled, "Although, how did you get over here so fast?"

"I've got my ways, strangah. So, those trinkets you have there. I'll buy 'em at a high price." I set them down next to Leon's and watched in amazement as the Merchant counted up a large amount of pesetas. He handed them over to us.

"Heh heh heh," he chuckled, "Thank you." Okay, this guy was just starting to weird me out a little bit, but we needed money, so I was willing to go along with it.

"Is that all, strangah?" he repeated from before. _Does this guy have no other lines? _I thought to myself.

"I'd like to tune up my TMP and Red 9 guns as well," Leon explained, "Faster firing speeds, quicker reloading speeds, and higher capacity." I watched in more amazement as the Merchant took care of all of that.

"Thank you," he said to Leon, and then, turning to me, he asked, "How about for the young lass?"

I hadn't thought about upgrading my handgun, but now that I saw it was possible, why not? "Sure," I decided, handing it over. The Merchant performed his magic on the gun and then handed it back to me. "Thank you!" I gasped, marveling at my new weapon.

"Come back any time!" the Merchant told us, waving merrily and counting how much money he had. We turned and climbed up a ladder to go through, you guessed it, more double doors. This was all unfamiliar to me, so I just stuck close to Leon.

By the time we arrived in a large area with three wooden cabins, a few Ganados rushed out and closed both gates. "Oh, shit!" I cried, instantly reaching for my newly upgraded handgun.

Leon grabbed my hand and steadied it as he whispered, "Wait."

Another gate opened to our right, and more Ganados entered the small arena, and they were hauling something on ropes. "¡_Rápido, rápido_!" they repeated over and over again, trying to pull on whatever was attached to those ropes. To my left, Leon let go of my wrist and just stood silently, watching this scene. Whatever the Ganados were hauling, it had to be something _huge_. To my horror, I realized I was right.

_Crash! _The gate suddenly burst open and slammed into the wall right next to it, and a giant troll emerged from behind it. With an ear-splitting screech, it raised its hands into the air and broke free from its restraints. "¡_Mierda_!" the Ganados shouted, the troll rampaging around the small arena and swiping at them. Leon and I pointed our guns at it from where we stood, helplessly watching the bloody scene in front of us. I fought the urge to scream and wondered how both Krauser and Leon didn't get shaken up by anything like this.

When the rampage was over, the troll turned to face us and swiped its arm at us, too. Out of instinct, we both rolled out of the way. Leon quickly switched from his handgun to the TMP he had just upgraded.

"Go! Start shooting!" he cried, and I began shooting at it with my handgun as Leon used his TMP. _I guess this is a boss I would have battled had I not gotten sucked in here, _I thought. The troll stomped its way around the narrow space, and Leon and I found that we had to constantly move to find a better place to shoot. At one point, I found myself cornered, so I threw a grenade in order to fend it off. After Leon repeatedly shot the giant beast in the shoulders, it stopped attacking us and then clutched its back in agony.

"What's that on its back?" I asked, noticing something swaying back and forth. Leon noticed it too and suddenly charged towards the monster.

"Leon, no!" I cried, "What are you doing?" But I watched as the blond agent leaped onto the troll's back, took out his knife, and began slashing at the Plagas. _Shit, _I thought. As the troll screamed again, Leon jumped back down to my height, grabbed by hand, and pulled me back slightly.

"_Awooooo!_" something else howled from far away. Leon and I looked up to see a white dog standing on a cliff and looking down at us.

"Hey, it's that dog," Leon whispered to me.

"Dog?" I asked, "What dog?"

"One I helped out of a bear trap earlier." _Has Krauser ever done anything like that? _I thought to myself, _Yeah, he saved you, Audrey. Remember? _I pushed these thoughts out of my head. The dog barked and jumped down into the arena, growling at the beast as it did so. It soon proved to be a perfect distraction; it led the troll around the arena while Leon and I shot at its shoulders from the back. Two more times, the large Plagas sprouted from its back, and two more times, Leon slashed at it with his knife. After the second time, the damage proved to be too much for the giant, so it screeched one last time (with me and Leon ducking for cover inside one of the cabins) and collapsed to the ground. With a sickening, bubbling sound, it decayed into nothing, just like the other Ganados. Leon stood up, away from me, and began running around to collect some stray items. I shook my head and had to grin a little bit as I thought, _Imagine what Alexis would say if she could see me now. _

"Did I miss anything in that cabin, Audrey?" Leon shouted from outside.

I snapped out of my daze for a minute and glanced around. "Yeah," I replied, "Just some TMP ammo, a green herb, and some shotgun shells. That's about it." I grabbed the items and handed them to him. I watched in fascination while he mixed the green and red herb together to form another spray.

"Here," he said, tossing it to me, "You can have it if you like. For the future."

I nodded. "Thanks." The two gates that the Ganados had closed before suddenly opened again, so Leon and I walked back through the small wooden door I had seen him go through before. _So I would have ended up here had I not fallen into the lake before. _

The mellow sensation I had been feeling disappeared when I found we were back on the bridge. "What's wrong?" Leon asked, noticing the way I was staring down at the water.

"I fell off this bridge earlier," I explained with a slight tremor. I braced myself for a snappy reaction, as I was used to with Krauser, but was surprised when Leon patted my shoulder.

"It's gonna be all right," he said comfortingly, "I know this situation is far from ideal, but just take a few deep breaths. We'll make it out of here alive." I closed my eyes for an instant, inhaled, and then exhaled a few times.

"Okay," I whispered, and we both began crossing the bridge again. My heart beat rapidly at the thought of the planks snapping again, as well as how vastly different Leon was from the way Krauser had described him.

Krauser, Krauser. Everything was about Jack Krauser all of a sudden. I needed to stop obsessing over this if I was going to keep my cover from being blown. I had a mission I needed to take care of and I wasn't going to let anything distract me.

On the other side of the bridge, a growling noise made us stop, and Leon pointed his TMP at something in the distance. "Get behind me," he whispered, so while I reached for my handgun, I did. The growling persisted until a few wolves with tentacles sprouting out of their backs stepped towards us.

"Damn!" Leon hissed, blasting his machine gun and taking out all the wolves one by one. A few of them slashed at us with the tentacles, but nevertheless, they all died and decayed the same way as the other enemies, and I found this no longer bothered me.

While the rain, thunder, and lightning still persisted, we made our way to the church, where Leon used the object he had found in the caves. Fortunately, it unlocked the doors to the church, which I was very familiar with by now. We explored the lower floor for a minute before we climbed up a ladder where, to our dismay, there were gates blocking almost everywhere. "Looks like we're going to have to jump," Leon said, staring at the chandelier. I gulped; this agent had led me into enough dangerous, life-threatening situations for the night. However, I still jumped with him. We landed on the other side and found a puzzle. The large insignia in the middle was upside down, and red, green, and blue lights reflected the same pattern, except in different orientations. Leon and I rearranged the lights so that when they combined, they would match the main insignia in the middle. We watched as the gates opened around us, and a crying noise caught our attention. Guns out, Leon slowly turned the doorknob and entered a small room filled with boxes and barrels, where something flitted in front of us. Or rather, someone.

"Ashley!" Leon cried.

"Don't come!" Ashley Graham cried, picking up a piece of wood and throwing it at us. I ducked as it nearly smacked me in the forehead.

"Hey! Take it easy," Leon tried to tell her in a calm voice, but she only backed away from us and leaned against a barrel.

"No! Get away!" I felt slightly guilty for putting her in this situation in the first place.

Leon never lost his patience, however, and tried again. "Calm down," he said, "Everything's going to be just fine. My name's Leon, and this is Audrey. We're under the President's orders to rescue you." _What a lie that is, _I thought to myself, _I'm not here for that. But they don't need to know that._

At this, Ashley instantly perked up. "What?" she gasped, "My father?" I nodded silently.

"That's right. Now, we have to get you out of here, so come with us." Leon helped Ashley get up from the ground, and then he called Hunnigan.

"It's Leon," he reported, "I've succeeded in extricating my subject."

"_Good work, Leon!_" Hunnigan exclaimed, "_I'll send a chopper over right away._"

"What's the extraction point?"

"_There's another trail that you can take to get out of the village. The chopper will pick you up beyond there._"

"Got it. I'm on my way!" Leon hung up and then turned to us. "Ready, ladies?" he asked.

"Oh, God, yes!" Ashley cried, "Let's get out of here!" After Leon collected all the objects in the barrels, we started to leave the church, though I began to sense that this was not quite the end of our adventure.


	8. Game Time!

Hello again, everyone! Chapter Eight of "Resident Evil: The Other Side" is here! :) For everyone wondering if this is a KrauserxOC story, keep reading to find out! ;)

And I know it looks like I'm just copying the game's script word for word, but I thought it would be cool to mix the script in with my own original dialogue, so that's why I'm doing that. Anyways, enjoy this next chapter!

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Audrey is mine.

* * *

"I don't know about this, you guys," Ashley whined as she glanced down at Leon and me. We had already climbed down to the first floor (well, Leon jumped) and she was still standing cautiously at the ladder.

"Don't worry," I assured her, "Climbing down isn't so bad."

"But it's so high up, though!"

"Here, I'll catch you!" Leon insisted, moving in front of me and holding his arms out. Ashley slowly lowered herself to a jumping position and was relieved when Leon caught her with no problems.

"I guess that was okay," she said, relieved. I grinned at her, hoping that my guilt didn't reveal itself.

As we rounded the corner, however, a surprise awaited us. "I'll take the girl," a familiar voice quipped, and soon, Saddler came into view in all his purple-robed glory.

Leon, Ashley, and I all stopped dead. Next to me, the President's daughter began to shake. "Who are you?" Leon demanded angrily. I silently hoped that Saddler wouldn't somehow end up giving me away.

"If you must know," he replied dramatically, "My name is Osmund Saddler, the master of this fine…religious community."

"This community? _Religious_?" I couldn't help but blurt out, "HA!" The cult leader gave me a silent glare, and Mendez's threat suddenly came back to haunt me: _Be careful of whose side you pick. You may not meet a very pleasant end… _

"You see we have a church, young lady," Saddler replied, gesturing to the insignia above our heads, "It's pretty self-explanatory."

"What do you want?" Leon snapped, pulling both me and Ashley closer to him.

"To demonstrate to the whole world our astounding power, of course," Saddler explained, "No longer will the United States think they can police the world forever. So we kidnapped the President's daughter in order to give her our power, and then send her back."

To Leon's right, Ashley suddenly gasped. "No," she whispered, clutching her neck, "Leon, Audrey, I think they shot something in my neck." This exchange, which was already eerie to begin with, was suddenly leaving me more and more unnerved by the minute.

The blond agent turned back to the cult leader. "What did you do to her?" he demanded.

"We just planted her a little...gift. Oh, there's going to be one _hell_ of a party when she returns home to her loving father." He laughed, which sent chills down my spine.

"No, no, no, no, no," Ashley whispered under her breath over and over again, clutching her head.

"But before that, I thought I might bargain with the President for some...donations. Believe it or not, it takes quite a lot of money to keep this church up and running."

"Well, you must not use it for maintenance," I muttered under my breath, which elicited a "Shut up" nudge from Leon and another death glare from Saddler.

"Watch who you're speaking to," he snapped, pointing his staff at me, but before he could continue reprimanding me, Leon spoke up.

"Faith and money will lead you nowhere, Saddler," he said.

The cult leader moved his gaze away from me and back to Leon. "Oh, I believe I forgot to tell you that we gave you the same gift. And Miss Fagan as well." Leon and Ashley widened their eyes in horror and gaped at me.

"You too?" Ashley shrieked. I couldn't look her in the eyes.

"When I was unconscious…" Leon muttered to himself, lost in thought. This conversation had taken a dire turn, and it made me nervous as to what Saddler would say next.

"Oh, I truly hope you like our small, but special

contributions. When the eggs hatch, you'll become my puppets. Involuntarily, you'll do as I say. I'll have total control over your minds. Even you, Audrey." I shivered at the sound of my first name coming out of his mouth. We all just stared silently at him, unable to reply with any good comebacks.

"Aww, don't give me that look, you three. Don't you think this is revolutionary way to propagate one's faith?"

"Sounds more like an alien invasion if you ask me!" Leon snapped. From behind us, the church doors suddenly flew open, and two monks with crossbows ran inside and pointed their weapons at us. In a flash, Leon grabbed Ashley and me and we all bolted towards the closest window. The monks shot arrows at us, the tips of them narrowly missing our heads and lodging themselves into the walls. With a bang, we charged through the glass window and fell towards the ground, fortunately landing on something soft.

"You guys okay?" Leon asked the two of us as we picked ourselves up.

"Leon?" Ashley whimpered, "What's going to happen to us?" I wondered the same thing, but I remained silent about it. I had asked Krauser the same question the previous day, when we were resting in the church together, just before…

No. Now was not the time to be thinking about this. We had to get out of here!

"Don't worry," Leon replied, "We got into this mess. We can get out of it." He ran around the room, breaking more barrels and boxes until he was finished collecting every item in sight. He handed some handgun ammo to me.

"Thank you," I told him, subconsciously glancing up towards the church again. The whole time, I thought about how disturbing that whole exchange with Saddler was. _I willingly accepted Las Plagas into my body, _I thought, _I wonder if I rushed into this too quickly. _

"Come on, Audrey!" Leon called to me. I snapped back to reality and allowed him and Ashley to lead me out of the basement room we had landed in.

Just as we emerged outside, Ashley turned to me and suddenly inquired, "What did Saddler mean by, 'Even you, Audrey'?"

"I don't know," I lied, "He sounds like a complete nutcase." The President's daughter still stared at me suspiciously, but the sounds of more Ganados shouting grabbed our attention.

Up ahead, hordes of angry villagers brandished torches and pitchforks in our direction, and Ashley looked ahead and shouted, "Leon, Audrey! Shoot the barrels on that wagon!" Leon immediately did so, and we watched as the barrels exploded, sending the wagon accelerating down the hill and crashing into the mob that was approaching us. A few of the Ganados stepped back, but then regained their composure and stormed up to us.

"Get off me!" I shouted, kicking the Ganado that had grabbed onto my wrist and tried to force his torch into my face. To my left, Leon was busy taking out a rather large group of villagers, and to my right, Ashley was screaming.

"AHH!" she screamed, and I glanced over my shoulder for a minute to see that one of the villagers had picked her up and was starting to carry her away.

"Leon! Audrey!" she cried, and at first, I was speechless. _Come on, Ashley! _I thought to myself, _You stood up for yourself against me and Krauser the other day when we were kidnapping you! _Oh, God. I had been hanging around that man too much; now I was starting to _think _very similar tohim. I shook my head, and then went to help Leon save the President's daughter. Leon shot the Ganado in the legs while I grabbed Ashley's arm and pulled her to safety.

"Thanks for that," she told us, brushing some dirt off her green skirt.

"Don't mention it," Leon replied, reloading his shotgun, "Let's move." We ran through the cemetery and retraced our steps all the way to the village, which Leon and I had memorized by now. Along the way, we ran into the Merchant again, who chuckled when he glanced at Ashley.

"Another young lass, strangah?" he asked as Leon sold some more spinels he had found along the way.

"Yes," the agent affirmed, "She's the President's daughter."

"Ahh!" the Merchant replied, making Ashley and I jump in the air, "You'll want to keep her close, strangah. And the other girl, too." He threw a glance over in my direction.

"They'll be fine," Leon assured the Merchant.

"That's what I like to hear, eh? Come back any time!" _There he goes again with the repetitive lines, _I thought, laughing to myself a little bit as Leon led us back through the underground passageway. When we got to the ladder, we turned to Ashley.

"You don't like climbing down ladders," Leon joked in order to lighten the mood, "What about going up?"

"Heh," Ashley replied, pushing past us and being the first to climb to the second level, "That's no problem." She smiled down at us. We followed her into the next room, where Leon cut in front of her while we emerged back into the village.

The rain poured down on us even more furiously now, and Leon reached into his pocket, took out a small flashlight, and turned it on. Well, it was a damn good thing he did, because we nearly stepped into a dozen bear traps. Ashley whimpered a little bit. "Shh!" I hissed, "They'll hear us!"

Too late. Leon's flashlight must have caught their attention, because a large group of Ganados with more torches and axes swarmed and surrounded us. While Leon took out the villagers, I shot at the bear traps in order to close them. Along the way, I grabbed Ashley's hand and kept her close to me so that none of the Ganados would take her. Or have her step into a bear trap I had overlooked. "How do you two know where you're going?" she asked.

"I don't," I assured her, "But I've been this way before. What about you, Leon?"

"There's a set of doors that I tried to go through before, but were locked," Leon panted, catching up to us after finishing off all the villagers, "Now that we've got more people in our group, we can get someone to climb over and unlock it from the other side." _I should have had that when I tried climbing over the double doors hours ago, _I thought.

We arrived on the farm again, and Leon suddenly stopped. "I'm not getting a good feeling about this," he mused, "Why don't you hide in this bin, Ashley?"

"Are you sure?" the President's daughter asked worriedly, and I couldn't help but agree with her; this was far too dangerous for Leon to carry out alone.

"I'm sure," the agent replied. Then, he turned to me and added, "Audrey, you've been through enough. You stay here with Ashley."

"No!" I said defiantly, "You're not going through this alone. It's too dangerous!"

"I did a lot of dangerous things already. And I was by myself. I know you were, too." I gulped and nodded, raising my handgun again.

"Please be careful," I whispered. Leon patted my shoulder, took out his shotgun, and ran towards the farm. Ashley climbed into the bin and closed the lid while I stood, alert, right next to it, just waiting for some Ganado to try and attack me. The cold wind and the persistent rain soaked me yet again, and in my pocket, I heard the distinct sound of my communicator. I stepped away from the bin where Ashley was hiding. _Krauser, _I thought.

"What's going on?" I asked him as soon as I connected the call.

"_I'm back on the island in one piece_," he replied through a burst of static, "_I'm just waiting for Saddler to make his next move._"

"Speaking of Saddler," I continued with a little bit of edge in my voice, "Did you know he was injecting a mind-controlling parasite in our bodies last night?"

There was a pause, and then a simple, "_Yes_."

"Well, nobody told me I was going to eventually lose my mind! Why didn't you say something?"

"_I thought you knew already. And it wouldn't kill you to go out and research things a little bit. Do you think the army was always there to hold my hand through tough times? No. I had to fend for myself, which is something you should learn if you're going to accomplish anything._"

For the first time in my life, I was shocked into silence. Nobody had ever quite put me in my place like Jack Krauser did in that moment, not even Mom and Alexis, and I had to admit, it was…different. _I hate to admit it, but Krauser's right, _I thought, _If he can survive on a battlefield, then I can fend for myself here. _I still couldn't speak after that, however, and as I tried to find some words to reply to Krauser's diatribe, I spotted Leon approaching me from a distance.

"Look, I've got to go," I announced in a much softer tone, "Leon's coming."

"_Just think about what I told you_." Krauser hung up, and I solemnly pocketed my communicator. Leon jogged up to me, brushing some wet strands of hair out of his eyes.

"The farm's clear now," he announced, smiling, "You guys can come out of hiding."

But as happy as I was at Leon's victory, I _couldn't _smile back; Krauser's words ate away at me over and over again. I wondered for a minute if there was another reason he had snapped like that. Had I really been behaving like a spoiled brat all this time? I shuddered with dread at the thought that I had.

To distract myself, I opened the lid to the bin and told Ashley, "Everything's okay now. Leon's okay. He fended for himself and it paid off."

"Let's get out of here," Ashley stammered, shivering in the cold. We climbed through the window of one of the houses, scaled up a ladder, and then jumped off a ledge leading to the door Leon was talking about.

"Here, Ashley," he said to her, "I'll lift you up to this door's height. Jump down on the other side and unlock it for us."

"Okay." Leon knelt down, and Ashley slowly climbed onto his shoulders. He stood up, and Ashley reached up and climbed over the double doors. After she jumped down to the other side, we heard a few clicking noises and then her voice announcing, "I opened it, guys."

Once we reunited with the President's daughter on the other side, we made another pit stop at the Merchant.

"Hey!" I suddenly cried, startling everyone, "If you were standing here the whole time, how come you couldn't just open the door?"

The Merchant shrugged. "I was busy taking care of business, strangah," he replied, "What can I do for all of you today?"

"Nothing this time," Leon answered, "Although I do need a few more first aid sprays." The Merchant handed two of them over.

"Heh heh heh. Thank you. Come back any time!" The three of us made our way across the bridge up ahead when all of a sudden, Leon's communicator beeped.

"_Leon, I have some bad news_," Hunnigan reported. Ashley and I glanced at each other with dread.

"I'd rather not hear it," Leon replied in a neutral tone.

"_Well, I'm afraid I have to tell you anyway. We've lost contact with the chopper. Somebody must have shot it down, though we can't determine who_."

"Great," Leon muttered angrily under his breath. Next to me, Ashley gasped, and I could just see tears forming in her eyes.

"_We're prepping another chopper for you. Meanwhile, I want you to head towards the extraction point_."

"Got it." Leon sighed and then turned to face us. By now, Ashley had started to cry, but only a little bit.

"We were _so close _to tasting freedom…" she whispered. I reached out and place one hand on her shoulder and the other on Leon's.

"We'll be okay," I assured her, "We've just got to…fend for ourselves now."

"Believe me, I've been through much worse than this," Leon added, "We'll be fine." Ashley looked up at us, a small smile tugging at her lips. She nodded silently and we then finished crossing the bridge.

Perhaps we had spoken too soon; suddenly, a _huge _mob of Ganados burst through the door we had just exited out of and now sprinted towards us. Not only that, but another mob approached us from the opposite cabin. "Shit!" I cursed out loud.

"What are we gonna do now?" Ashley cried.

"I hate to say it, but we're sandwiched, all right!" Leon shouted, giving the two of us a slight push, "Quick! In that cabin!" We ran as if we were sprinting in a marathon, with Leon running protectively behind us. While we ran, my communicator beeped again, and I saw it was Krauser. I ignored it for the time being; getting away from these freaky Ganados was my top priority at the moment.

Once we were safely inside the cabin, Leon slammed the door shut. "Leon!" a voice cried, and we all turned to see a man standing by the staircase. He tossed a bar to Leon, who proceeded to place it across the door. This man also was familiar; it was then I remembered it was the Spaniard I had dubbed "Mr. Smokes" earlier.

"Small world, eh?" he continued, sweeping his gaze over all of us and stopping on Ashley's chest.

"Well, I see that the President has equipped his daughter with ballistics, too," he commented, chuckling at the blush that was creeping up my cheeks. _Damn, he's bold, _I thought.

Ashley didn't think it was funny. Fuming, she marched up to Mr. Smokes and snapped, "How rude! And I don't believe there's any relevance with my figure and my standing! Who are you?"

"It's okay, Ashley," I whispered to her, "He didn't mean anything by it." The man turned to me next and just smiled, and I knew he was saving a response of his own for me.

"Ho, ho, excuse me, Your Highness," he said to Ashley half-heartedly, holding up his hands, "Perhaps the young lady might want to introduce herself first before asking someone his name?"

Ashley smirked. "Her name's Ashley Graham," she introduced, "The _President's daughter_." Luis then turned to me next.

"And you?" he asked, smiling at me again, and I couldn't help but feel my stomach flip. Of course, _now _was the time I had to be covered in blood and dirt. I rolled my eyes to myself and could just picture Alexis making a comment about this.

"Audrey Fagan," I answered, "It's nice to meet you…uhh…I'm sorry, but what's your name?"

"Luis Sera," Luis said to both me and Ashley, "It's lovely to meet both of you, covered in blood or not." I blushed a deep, red color again, and Ashley snorted into her hand, which drew Luis's attention back to her. His face suddenly became full of concern.

"Is she…you know…"

"Don't worry," Leon interrupted, "She's cool."

"Ahh, never mind. There's supposed to be some obvious symptom before you turn into one of them anyway."

"What symptom?" Leon and I asked at the same time. Before Luis could answer, Ashley suddenly pointed to the window.

"Look!" she screamed. We all ran over to the window and saw the huge mobs making attempts to break into the cabin. A few of them banged on the barred door, which made me scream and instantly reach for my handgun.

"Ashley! Upstairs!" Leon cried. Ashley immediately bolted for the stairs. Leon, Luis, and I all glanced at each other as the banging became more insistent. The two of them took their places by the windows while I raced for the stairs, just in case any of the Ganados tried to make their way upstairs.

"Okay. It's game time," Luis whispered under his breath.

* * *

**To say this mission changed a little bit would be like saying I only broke a Ganado's arm. When I had woken up after being unconscious for so long, I found myself in a completely different area. A few Ganados had stood above me, chanting with their heads bowed. As one of them raised his axe over me, I had quickly flipped out of the way, taken them all down, and then left the sacrificing rock. **_**Damn it, **_**I thought, **_**All I want to do is find that Spaniard! **_

** I ran outside and reached for my communicator. "**_**So you finally decided to answer, too, huh?**_**" Krauser asked from the other end. **

** I rolled my eyes. "I've been unconscious for a long time. I still haven't gotten around to finding that ladies' man." **

** "**_**Wesker's probably wondering what the hell happened to his team. You and Audrey were both M.I.A for a long time.**_**" I smirked. **

** "What have **_**you **_**been doing this whole time?" I asked. **

** "**_**Spying on Saddler. It's paid off so far**_**." **

** "Yeah, I bet it has. Just keep doing that and see what you can find." I was about to hang up when Krauser spoke up again. **

** "**_**By the way, will you ever tell me why you're working for Wesker? I told you my reasons**_**." **

** "Sorry," I answered, "Maybe someday." I hung up before he could say anything else. No matter what happened, **_**nobody **_**was going to find out my hidden agenda. **

** I made my way down the metal stairs and finally to another passageway that ended in a double door. Along the way, I had spotted a cable car lift, and I realized I needed a key in order to activate it. **_**God only knows they won't make this a breeze, **_**I thought to myself, and not to my surprise, I was right. When I entered the small building ahead of me, I spotted another woman with a chainsaw in her hand. Something glittered on her waist, and I saw it was the Lift Activation Key. It took a lot of effort, but I managed to neutralize her, as well as the other Ganados in the building. **_**No time to celebrate. I have to still find that Spaniard. **_

** I carefully retraced my steps back to the lift, where I used the key to get it moving, at least. Once I was back on the other side of the cable car lift, I made my way down the stairs and tried every single door I could find…to no avail. All of them were locked. **_**Perfect. **_

** Up ahead was another locked door, but it looked like there was a way around that. Using my grappling gun, I shot the grapple into the wall and pulled myself over to the other side. **_**Well, that was easy, **_**I thought, smiling to myself. **

** I had celebrated too early, it seemed, for suddenly, a giant troll leaped down from the ledge above me, shaking the ground and causing me to lose my footing. It roared, causing me to cover my ears and instantly switch to my trusty TMP. I shot at the beast in front of me, all while avoiding its sweeping hands and rampages. There wasn't much room to move, unfortunately, which made this battle all the more annoying. Three times, some type of large Plagas sprouted out of El Gigante's back, and I climbed onto the giant's shoulders while I hacked away at it with my knife. **_**For a giant, this beast is pretty easy to defeat, **_**I thought to myself as El Gigante crashed to the ground in front of me and disintegrated, leaving a large pile of pesetas. This had taken some time to get used to, watching the Ganados drop various items after they died, but then I had reminded myself that I had faced much worse than that. Like in Raccoon City. **

** Leon. I wondered where he was now and what he was doing. I sighed at the thought of having to hide from him; it was a little depressing, but it was part of my job. I kicked the doors open in front of me, where I stumbled upon a surprising scene. I kept myself hidden, watching the siege on the cabin up ahead. **_**Luis must be in there, **_**I thought. **

* * *

The enemies were swarming around us even more insistently; they had broken through the barriers Leon, Luis, and I had created. So far, none of them tried entering from upstairs, but I kept my ears open for any danger. During the chaos, my communicator went off again, but I had to ignore it; we were under attack right now.

From the stairs, I watched Leon and Luis both shoot their Red 9 guns at the Ganados. They worked very well as a team, I had to admit; quite often, Luis tossed some valuable items to Leon, and Leon helped Luis get out of some of the Ganados' grips.

_Crash! _Above my head, the sound of broken glass greeted me. I whipped around to see a ladder poking through the window, and a few Ganados were starting to climb up and into the cabin. I immediately sprinted upstairs and began shooting at anyone who tried to enter this way. After a while, when the enemies began actually entering the upstairs floor, I ran over to the window and shoved the ladder back down to the ground. "AHH!" the villagers yelled, their screams fading away to the ground below.

Another loud crash resonated downstairs, and I suddenly heard Luis cry, "Leon, upstairs!" Their footsteps pounded until they were finally up on my level. The Ganados seemed to sense we were up here, because they all began climbing through the windows again.

"Where's Ashley?" Leon whispered to me. Without using words, I nodded to a cabinet in the distance.

After we took out about a dozen more villains, we noticed they were no longer attacking us. The three of us raced over to the window and saw the Ganados retreating.

"Hmm," Leon mused, "Looks like they're backing off." As soon as he said that, Ashley emerged from the closet she was hiding in and ran over to us.

"Are they gone?" she asked.

"Yes," I told her, nodding. The four of us cautiously walked back downstairs.

There was an uncomfortable silence, which I hated, so I decided to break it by saying, "Damn, this is serious. These villagers are so bloodthirsty it's not even funny!" When I had originally bought _Resident Evil 4 _at Best Buy, I had never expected to feel this rattled by it. Then again, I hadn't expected to get pulled into the game itself.

Luis glanced at me. "So, what do we do now?" he asked quietly. I shrugged, and Leon glanced at the door again.

"The bridge we crossed to get here is out, so I guess we have no choice but to keep moving," he said to the rest of us. I gulped and quickly reloaded my handgun. From the corner of my eye, I saw Ashley reach for the door and pick up the bar that Leon had placed over it before.

I began moving towards the exit, but Luis cut in front of me. "Wait," he said, "I forgot something. You guys go ahead." And without another word, he pushed the door open and walked away.

"Luis…" Leon started, but didn't finish. Luis was already gone.

* * *

_**Finally, I found that Spaniard, **_**I thought to myself as he emerged from the cabin. I had watched as the Ganados cleared off. He slowly walked over to me, all smiles, and he held his arms out in a hugging gesture. **

** "Hey, ****señorita! Have a light? And some smokes to go with it to make my day?" he greeted, though I was in no mood for jokes at the moment. **

** "Where's the sample?" I asked, resting my hands on my hips. **

** Luis raised his hands in defeat. "Okay, we'll skip the foreplay. As a matter of fact, I was just going to get it." He smiled again. "Where's the love, baby?" **

_**HA! **_**"Sounds like fun to me. Just hurry up!" **

** "Okay, lady," Luis sighed, "Where do you stand in all this? Exactly what kind of group are you working for?" **

_**Why the hell does everyone want to know? **_**I thought, slightly irritated. To mask my feelings, I smirked and replied, "There are some things you're better off not knowing. This is one of them." **

** Luis sighed again. "Okay, I can take a hint. I don't care who you are, as long as you can get rid of that old man and his religious friends." **

** "We'll keep in touch," I assured him. He took another look at me and then walked away. From the distance, I spotted Audrey watching us with a curious expression on her face. She had to be wondering the same thing Luis was: who was I, exactly? The two of us didn't communicate that much; maybe it was for the better. She turned and walked away, probably going to catch up with Leon. **_**I hope you're okay, Leon, **_**I thought, running away into the night.**


	9. On the Road

I realized that in all these chapters, I haven't written Wesker into the story for a while, so he makes a guest appearance in this chapter! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Audrey is mine. Everyone else belongs to Capcom and _Pirates of the Caribbean _belongs to Disney.

_

* * *

_

_Note to self: remind me to kill Saddler when I meet up with him again! _I thought as Leon, Ashley, and I dodged another one of El Gigante's attacks. I couldn't believe it when we had gone through this gate only to find another beast like the one Leon and I had fought before.

A little while ago, we had discovered that there were two gates to choose from, one containing this El Gigante and the other that had hordes of villagers. We didn't know which gate had which, so on a coin toss (thanks to Leon), we had picked the right gate. Ashley was freaked out the whole time, so she stuck close behind us while Leon shot at the troll.

A few times, it grabbed Ashley in its grasp. "AHH!" she screamed, just like an opera singer. Leon immediately raced forward and shot the troll's hands, therefore releasing the President's daughter from its grasp.

"Head for the door!" Leon shouted to us, giving us a slight push. I shoved Ashley in front of me and we raced for the door on the other side…which was covered in padlocks. And El Gigante was getting closer to us.

Suddenly, Ashley ran in front of me and began bashing at the padlocks with the bar from the door in the cabin. To both our surprises, the locks fell off the door, and we were able to get it open in time before El Gigante grabbed us again. Leon shot at the giant a little bit more before running to catch up with us. I reached into my pocket and threw a flash grenade in the beast's direction. While it was blinded, I shouted, "Go, go!" Ashley immediately bolted for the door while Leon and I dashed into the cabins and picked up a few valuable items, including an old-fashioned looking key. Just as we ran to meet up with Ashley at the door, El Gigante recovered from my flash grenade and stomped after us.

"Hurry!" Ashley shouted in panic. With a shaking hand, Leon inserted the key into the lock and kicked the door open, forcing the two of us through to the other side and then following us, effectively slamming the door on the beast. From the other side, we could hear it roaring, clearly disappointed that we had gotten away.

"What the hell was that thing?" Ashley cried in a tone that was both angry and relieved.

"El Gigante," I intoned, "Leon and I faced one before."

"I hope we never meet anything like that again!"

Leon reloaded his TMP and then glanced up ahead. "Look!" he cried, pointing at the large gate in the distance. Now that the rain had stopped, we were able to see more clearly, and so we sprinted towards the gate.

"Is this the way out of the village?" I asked hopefully.

"Looks like it," Leon answered, "Except…" He ran his hands along a circular hole in the center.

"What?" the President's daughter piped up, "What is it?"

"This is a retinal scanner," the agent explained, and instantly, my heart sank.

"And we don't have access to this gate…" Ashley realized, her heart probably getting the same sinking feeling as mine.

"Let's go this way," Leon suggested, nodding to a path to our left. Weapons out, we ran up the flight of stairs that greeted us until we reached a cable car lift. "After you," he said to us.

When we were situated on the cable car, we slowly descended down to the other side, across another abyss. In the distance, we noticed a few Ganados standing next to the lift, so Leon whipped out his rifle and shot them down. From behind me, Ashley cheered. Next to us, some Ganados tried throwing axes at us, so I shot at them until they fell out of the car adjacent to ours.

_Thump! Thump! _What was that noise? Ashley and I gasped when we looked up and noticed another villager had climbed onto the top of our car. He was attempting to chop us off of the railing that held up up. "No!" the President's daughter cried, beating the Ganado with the door bar. With a scream, he let go of the axe and fell into God knew where.

"Nice work, you two!" Leon complimented once we were back on solid land.

"Thanks!" I replied. We picked our way around this unfamiliar area until we ran down a few sets of stairs and ran into the Merchant again.

"Welcome!" he boomed, opening his coat and showing us everything he was selling.

Leon went first and sold some items he had found during our journey. He also tuned up his rifle, TMP, and shotgun. When it was my turn, I decided to tune up my handgun once again, as well as buy a TMP. Although it was not as powerful as Leon's, it would still help me out of some jams, I felt. "One day, you have to tell us how you always seem to know where we are," I said to the Merchant when I was finished dealing with him.

"All good things come to those who wait, strangah," he said, winking at me, "Just keep yourselves in one piece, eh? Come back any time!" He waved us on, and we continued down the path towards more double doors.

When we arrived at another eerie-looking cabin, Leon suddenly stopped. "You'd better stay outside," he said to Ashley, "Ashley, go hide."

"Yeah," she replied, running for a hiding place immediately. Leon turned to me next.

"Cover me," he ordered, so I grabbed my new TMP and waited outside the door while Leon entered the building. During the rush to get out of the village, I had forgotten about the darkness and the silence, but now that I was surrounded by it again, I felt unnerved. _Please hurry up in there, Leon, _I pleaded silently.

_Snap! _What was that? My ears pricked up, instantly alert to my surroundings. My breathing picked up rapidly, and my heart began to beat nervously. The snapping noise echoed again, and I whipped my head around, keeping my TMP out in front of me. _This is exactly why I hate the dark, _I thought to myself, thinking back to the Halloween incident that started it all.

_Snap! _There it went again. My finger shook on the trigger of my TMP, but before I could shoot bullets out of it, I heard a growl and then someone grabbed me by the throat again. "I knew we couldn't trust you," Mendez's familiar voice whispered, and I felt him snatch my TMP out of my hand and throw it to the side.

"I've been following you since you left the pueblo," he told me as he continued to choke me, "Thank you for leading me to the American intruder." I couldn't say a word. I did, however, manage to get one sentence out, despite the fact that he was choking me.

"Y-you…are a…c-creep!" I croaked, which only made him tighten his grip on my neck. He then slammed me to the ground and rested his hand on the door.

"I told you to watch your back," he growled, "And now you'll pay for this. I'm going to finish off the American first, and then I'll deal with you afterwards."

"N-no," I choked. Mendez kicked me in the stomach before entering the cabin where Leon was. _Leon. _

From outside, I could hear Leon groaning and gasping for air, which made me assume that Mendez was choking him too. No words were being exchanged, but that made it all the more terrifying. But soon, I heard the agent cry, "¡_Hasta luego_!" An explosion followed right after that. _Damn it! What the hell is going on in there? _

Growls and gunshots echoed from inside the cabin, and I leaped up from the ground and tried breaking into the cabin. I ran around to the side of the building and noticed that the wall was made of wood. Not thinking too clearly, I grabbed a wooden plank off the roof of a small cabin next to this one and began trying to break through the wall. After an explosion like that, the foundation had to be weaker. As the gunshots persisted, I continued my assault on the wall for five more minutes until a voice shouted, "Audrey, stop!"

But I couldn't stop. I swung the wooden plank again and then heard someone cry, "Ow!" It was then that I stopped what I was doing. I dropped the plank and saw Leon standing in front of me. And he had a gash across his face from where I had smacked him.

"Oh my God," I muttered, "I'm so sorry!" Leon stared down at his gash and then turned back to me.

"What are you doing?" he asked, "What happened out here before?"

"Mendez attacked me!" I cried, "And then I tried to get into the building because the door was locked before! I didn't mean to hit you."

"Just be careful next time," Leon chided me, reaching for a first aid spray and fixing his cheek, which had begun to bleed profusely.

"Are you okay, Leon?" Ashley cried as she emerged out of hiding.

Leon clutched his cheek and began removing some splinters as he replied, "I'm going to be okay. I got one of the Big Cheese's eyes, though, for that retinal scanner." He held up an eye, which made me feel clammy all over.

"Thank God!" Ashley cried, "Let's get out of here!"

* * *

_"There you are, Krauser!" Saddler shouted to me as soon as he arrived back on the island. I went to meet him by the dock, where I helped him off of the small boat and escorted him back to the throne room. _

_"I hope the island has been tended to well in my absence," he half-joked. _

_"Island's fine," I replied in a gruff tone, "What's happening in the village?" _

_Saddler sighed and refused to answer at first. _

_"What's wrong?" _

_"It's that American agent," the cult leader snarled, "He's taken the President's daughter. And he's killed Chief Mendez. This situation is getting quite serious now." _

_I frowned and gripped my knife in my hand. "What do you want me to do? Just tell me, and I'll do it." _

_"Tell Salazar that the American is arriving and to prepare his men. If there are any disturbances, he shall lead an attack when he sees fit." _

_"Yes, Lord Saddler." I bowed again and turned to leave when he stopped me. _

_"Oh, and another thing," he continued, "Your partner, Audrey Fagan? I don't trust her." _

_"Really? Why not?" _

_"She is too headstrong for her own good." _

_I scoffed. "Yeah, tell me about it," I mumbled under my breath. _Sometimes, she really pisses me off, _I thought to myself, remembering the heated discussion from before and then the two times she ignored me after that. _She needs to grow up and take some responsibility. It's clear she's got it in her.

_"Mendez didn't trust her, either." _

_I sighed. "Look," I said, "She's just there to distract Leon. I don't think we need to worry about her getting in the way." _

_"We'd better not or else we're going to have to exercise more caution. At any rate, Leon Kennedy and Ashley Graham will not make it to the next day. We'll see to that. And if Miss Fagan becomes a liability, then we know what to do with her." I nodded silently, bowed again, and then went to deliver Saddler's message to Salazar. Ramon Salazar, that was. I was sure he wouldn't take too kindly to this news, but I forged ahead anyway with a new energy. _

_Along the way, my communicator went off, and I saw it was Wesker. "How is everything over there?" he asked when I picked up. I quickly filled him in on everything that was happening with me, Ada, and Audrey, and the whole time, he made gestures that he was pleased with how everything was turning out. _

_"Keep up the good work," he encouraged me, "I shall be checking upon the other two once I have a minute. But for now, keep spying on Saddler. Root out his vulnerabilities. We need that sample now." _

_"Of course. We'll get the sample for you with no trouble at all." _

* * *

_Eww, creepy! _I thought as I watched Leon hold Mendez's eye up to the scanner. A buzzing noise followed suit, and then the gates were unlocked. On the other side was a hill that was leading up to somewhere. Where, we didn't know. "Thank God we're out of the village!" Ashley exclaimed in relief.

"Yeah, but what's going to be at the top of this hill?" I asked with a slight tremor in my voice.

"A chopper back to the US, that's what!" the President's daughter replied hopefully.

A guttural noise in the distance suddenly silenced all of us. "Shh," Leon whispered, raising his index finger to his lips. He stashed his shotgun away and took out his rifle instead, and he stealthily led us up the hill.

"Look out!" I cried, not bothering to keep my voice down, for a truck was barreling down the hill towards us. The driver honked the horn obnoxiously, so Leon quickly zoomed in on the driver through the rifle and shot him. The truck accelerated even faster now, and Leon shoved us behind him as the large vehicle flipped over onto its side and slid in front of us, just narrowly missing our feet. Ashley and I sighed with relief, and Leon silently motioned for us to follow him once again. Once we made it to the top of the hill, the gate behind us burst open, and a group of angry Ganados sprinted towards us. "¡_Allí están_!" they shouted, tossing each other pitchforks and torches.

Leon reached into his pocket, pulled out a hand grenade, and chucked it at the large group. The explosion sent all of them flying, kicking up dirt and dust in our faces. "Let's get out of here!" he shouted to us, and after he broke a few barrels that we had spotted, we followed another path, where the dirt disappeared and concrete greeted us. When we looked up, we couldn't believe our eyes.

"Whoa!" I gasped, "Check out that castle!"

"It seems very conveniently placed," Leon added, narrowing his eyes at the structure. It was magnificent, I had to admit, but it looked like a complicated maze of rooms and towers. It would probably take hours just to explore every room in that place.

"I don't know, you guys," Ashley jumped in, "The village was bad enough."

Suddenly, the gates burst open again, and like at the cabin with Luis, the mob of Ganados was huge again. "On the other side of the drawbridge!" Leon shouted, giving us a push again. Ashley hesitated again, but I tugged on her arm and dragged her with me.

"We've got no choice now!" I told her, "Let's go!" We ran across the drawbridge up ahead, and when we made it to the other side, Leon took one crank while Ashley took the other one. Working together, they turned the cranks, effectively lifting the drawbridge. I could see the Ganados were getting pissed off; they hissed at us and cursed in Spanish at our victory. With a bang, the drawbridge closed, and it looked like we had no choice but to move forward.

"Come on, girls," Leon said to us, and we followed him into the castle, where the first thing we noticed was the Merchant…again! This time, though, we didn't have to buy or sell anything to him, so we just kept going after Leon collected the items around the barrels. _This is the weirdest situation I've ever been in, _I thought to myself, _What would my family think of this? _

On the other side of the door, we were just making our way towards a set of spiral stairs when we suddenly heard chanting: "_Morir es vivir. Morir es vivir. Morir es vivir…_" We stopped dead.

"What the hell?" I whispered harshly to the others once I realized what the English translation said: _To die is to live…_

"_Morir es vivir. Morir es vivir…_"

"Let's keep moving," Leon whispered, gently leading us up the stairs. Along the way, the chanting became more and more creepy.

"_Morir es vivir. Morir es vivir. Morir es vivir…_" Laughter followed after that, as well as another rough voice. "¡_Allí están_!" a monk in a red robe cried, leaning down from a pillar above us and pointing. After the two-second silence, a catapult on a ledge ahead of us began firing explosives at us.

"Get back!" Leon shouted, throwing his arm up in front of his face to block out the brightness of the explosion. We stumbled back onto the stairs. Whatever the monks were throwing at us, it was huge, because the explosion shook the ground around us. When the smoke and fire cleared, Leon motioned for us to run, so we ran until we found another set of stairs. Yet when we got there, two more monks that were chanting turned around and lunged for us. In a snap decision, Leon ran in front of us and blasted them with the shotgun.

_Boom! _More explosions rocked the foundation around us, so we took cover in a room with a large cannon. As we recollected ourselves, I commented, "Damn. How did they know we were arriving here? Like they were just waiting for us to show up."

"I don't know," Ashley answered, "And I don't want to know! Though I would like to know what this cannon is for."

"Let's do some exploring and find out," Leon piped up, patting the cannon. We exited the room and ran up a few more sets of stairs, where more monks with catapults greeted us. In a flash, Leon whipped out his rifle and began shooting explosive barrels next to the monks, therefore putting them out of commission. "Come on," he whispered to us, and we continued to follow him. We took cover yet again in a smaller cabin across from a tower, and after we took out the cultists in there, Leon made Ashley and me stay hidden while he went to explore the tower. While he was gone, a few monks in black robes sprinted towards our hideout, and with the combined effort of my TMP (that I had retrieved after my confrontation with Mendez) and Ashley's handy door bar, we managed to subdue them. Up ahead, Leon began rotating another crank, and over time, the cannon from below rose up to our level. He must have checked for some gunpowder in the cannon or something, because he suddenly fired it, and in the distance, a wall that had been built before came crumbling down. _That ought to wake 'em up_, I thought as Leon jogged towards us again.

"It's all clear!" he shouted to us, and we ran outside to meet him again. We turned the corner and, not surprisingly, ran into the Merchant again. I didn't even bother to comment this time; I was far too used to seeing him appear randomly. Leon dealt with him for a few minutes and then we entered the building in front of us. At that moment, Leon's communicator beeped.

"Leon, where's your current location?" Hunnigan questioned from the other end.

"We decided to lay low in a castle, but it looks like it was a bad move," the agent replied.

"Meaning?"

"Well, it appears that this castle's also connected to Los Illuminados. They must not get a lot of visitors because they're giving me one hell of a welcome."

"Sounds bad. I have an idea, Leon. I need you to…"

Suddenly, the communicator cut off after a burst of static.

"What?" Leon asked, "Repeat, Hunnigan." At that moment, my communicator began acting strangely as well. I grabbed it and tapped the screen a little bit. _Shit, _I thought, _I can't contact Krauser or Wesker now. Damn it! _

Leon seemed to share my aggravation. "Great," he muttered darkly, "Just my luck." He gave me a disappointed look.

"Hey, look at this!" Ashley said to us, and when we turned around, we saw her pointing to a platinum sword resting against a gold background. I walked over to the sword and carefully removed it from its lodging. Above our heads, footsteps pounded on the floor, so Leon, Ashley and I raced upstairs to find a bunch of monks surrounding us. After we spent that time taking them out, we found a gold sword against a platinum wall. Leon raced around the small room, placing the swords in the correct places. Behind us, the wall retracted and revealed another doorway.

On the other side was another windy passageway, with a large door being on the right. "Leon!" a familiar voice yelled, and we all turned around to see none other than Luis Sera.

"Luis!" Leon cried.

"Hey, Luis!" I greeted, "How did you get here? The drawbridge is closed."

"I've got my ways, _amiga_," he replied, smiling, "Anyway, I've got something for you guys." He patted his pockets, the smile disappearing every second.

"Huh? What?" he gasped, his eyes widening, "Oh, shit! I must have dropped it when I was running away from them."

"Dropped what?" Ashley asked.

"A drug that will stop your convulsions." We just stared silently, waiting for an explanation.

Luis sighed. "Look, I know you're carriers," he explained, "You've been coughing up blood, right?"

Leon and I glanced at each other before the older man slowly answered, "Yeah."

"And you?" the Spaniard asked with a little bit of edge, turning to Ashley.

"Yes," the President's daughter affirmed, nodding tersely.

"You, too, right, Audrey?"

"Unfortunately," I snarled.

Luis snapped his fingers. "Damn it!" he cursed, "The eggs have hatched. We don't have much time."

"What are you talking about?" Leon asked.

Luis glanced over his shoulder. "I have to go back and get it," he whispered under his breath.

Ashley pushed past me and ran over to Luis. "Let me come with you," she pleaded.

"No! You stay here with Leon." Luis gave me a slightly amused look. "He's better with the ladies, I'm sure." I blushed again, my cheeks turning a deep red.

"That's a comfort," I joked, trying to lighten the mood a little bit. Luis smiled weakly and then turned to go back the way he came.

"Why are you…" Leon started, but didn't finish.

"It makes me feel better," the Spaniard replied solemnly, "Let's just leave it at that." He disappeared into the night.

"We better keep going," Leon whispered to us.

* * *

_**A horde of zealots and a few explosive attacks later…**_

"Finally!" Ashley cried as we raced back to the main door we had spotted before. Leon held another key in his hand, and he used it to unlock the large doors in front of us. With our weapons in our hands, we entered the first main room of the castle. It was beautiful and intimidating at the same time, with its ornate carpets and white pillars on both sides. In the far reaches of the hallway were porcelain floors.

"Hee hee hee hee hee!" an unfamiliar voice suddenly cackled, the disturbing sound echoing off the glass around us. Ashley huddled closer to Leon, and I raised my handgun higher in the air. The cackling persisted as we cautiously advanced towards the staircase in the front of the hallway.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" the voice continued, and when we looked up, we finally saw where the freaky sound was coming from. On the railing up ahead, there was an extremely short man that, given by the way he was dressed, looked like he had just stepped out of _Pirates of the Caribbean. _He wore a large, blue hat with a matching blue outfit and black shoes. On both his sides were hooded guards; one was dressed in a black robe and the other in a red robe. Underneath the hoods was a mystery, except for two pairs of red eyes that seemed to pierce through one's soul. As soon as they stared at me, I felt a chill go down my spine.

Like Saddler, the short man spoke with an accent. "I was starting to wonder when you might notice us!" he said cheerfully, clapping his hands.

"Who are you?" Leon snapped.

The man chuckled. "_Me llamo Ramon Salazar_," he introduced himself, "The eighth castellan of this magnificent architecture. I've been honored with the prodigious power from the great Lord Saddler. I've been expecting you, my brethren." He swept his gaze over all of us.

"I've heard so much about each of you," he continued, "I'm looking forward to becoming more…_acquainted _with new members."

"No thanks, bro!" Leon replied.

Salazar frowned. "My, my, we've got a feisty one. If you care for your own well-being, I suggest you surrender yourself and simply…_become _our hostage." We all began yelling in protest, but Salazar held his hand up to silence us.

"Or Mr. Scott, you can give us the girl," he continued, pointing to Ashley, "Because you're not worth a penny, I'm afraid. You can die!" He shifted his gaze to me next.

"Oh, and you should tread carefully whilst you're here, Audrey Fagan. Any sudden moves and you will join Mr. Scott in his grave." After one last stare from his hooded partners, the three of them left.

Ashley ran over to us and declared, "I'm _never _turning into one of them! _Never_!"

Leon nodded with a determined frown on his face. "You got that right," he agreed, "We'll find a cure."

"Why the hell does everyone keep threatening me?" I groaned as we ran up the small flight of stairs. Nobody knew what to say to my question. As soon as we headed over to the path ahead of us, a rumbling noise ensued, and a wall rose up from the floor and blocked us from exiting the door.

"Lovely," I said sarcastically.

"There are three ornaments missing from this wall," Leon added, studying the empty slots, "Let's go find them."


	10. Welcoming Committee and More Stories

Okay, this is another transition chapter, so I hope you enjoy it! Don't forget to read and review! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Audrey is mine. Everything else belongs to Capcom and Wolverine and _X-Men _belong to Marvel Comics.

* * *

"You're quiet," Leon said to me as we explored the hallway that the door on our right had led us to, "Is everything okay?"

"Huh?" I replied, turning to face him, "Oh, yeah. I'm fine." Well, that was a lie. The truth was, I was thinking about how unfair it was that both Mendez and Salazar didn't trust us. Was this how Randy felt whenever I was rude to him? _I guess karma really is a bitch, _I thought to myself, a wry grin spreading on my face.

I was also thinking about how weird it was to be a double agent. So far, in my opinion, Krauser had been wrong about Leon; he was not evil, but quite the opposite. He always made sure Ashley and I were okay, and he always comforted us whenever we were feeling down about our situation. Hell, he even cracked a joke every now and then to cheer us up. _Either Leon's covering up his "evil" side, or Krauser didn't tell me the full story of South America, _I thought, _Maybe I can subtly get Leon to tell me his side. _

"Ouch!" Ashley's scream pulled me back to reality. Leon and I glanced over at her and noticed she had nearly walked into some flames.

"Ashley!" Leon cried, pulling out a first aid spray and dressing the burn on her arm, "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, guys," the President's daughter assured us, "But thank you."

"Hey, check this out!" I said to the others, pointing at a key embedded in another painting. They raced over to me and Leon gently lifted the key off the wall.

"This must be for that prison door we passed before," Leon realized, "Come on!" We ran back to said door, and when Leon tried the key, it worked.

All of a sudden, I stopped. "It sure looks dark down there," I whispered, shivering.

Ashley faced me. "Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark," she said, trying to joke with me.

But I nodded and replied, "I am. Long story."

The President's daughter's face turned surprisingly stern in that instant. "Look, there are three of us here," she said, "What could happen?"

"You've got a point. Let's get this over with." And following close behind Leon, we slowly walked downstairs into the prison. In the corner was a large jail cell not unlike the one I woke up in, as well as bells on both sides. _Odd, _I thought to myself. When I looked up, I noticed something standing inside the actual cell and breathing very heavily.

"Oh my God!" Ashley and I whispered in unison at the same time.

"What is that thing?" Ashley continued in a hushed voice, and I realized the more I stared at it, the more it reminded me of Wolverine from _X-Men. _It was probably about seven feet tall, with a sturdy helmet over its head and long, sharp claws protruding from its knuckles. Something was sewn over its eyes as well. _Okay, then it's a blind Wolverine, _I thought to myself.

Leon ran over to the cell and kicked the door down. As soon as he did that, the blind Wolverine let out a growl and broke free from its restraints. Leon ducked at the last minute, thankfully missing the creature's claws. Ashley and I gasped as we watched from the edge of the stairs. The beast seemed to really hate loud noises, because whenever Leon started running, it would freak out. Leon picked up on this as well, so he slowed down to a sneaking around pace. The blind Wolverine flexed its claws and began walking around, and what scared me the most was that it always seemed to know where Leon was.

_Come on, _I mouthed to Ashley, and we silently crept down the stairs to go try and help Leon. As soon as my foot hit the ground below, the creature went berserk again, ran over to me, and began slicing at me with its claws. One of them caught my stomach, and I fell to the ground. I covered my mouth so that I wouldn't scream in pain. Leon shot me a concerned look and then went to fire bullets at one of the bells. The blind monster roared, raced over to the bell, and stuck its claws into the wall, lodging itself there. Leon whipped out his rifle and shot as the Plagas that were on its back a few times before it finally collapsed permanently.

"Audrey!" Leon cried, racing over to me, "Are you all right?"

I finally screamed. "It swiped my stomach," I groaned, gently lifting up my shirt to expose my stomach. Ashley gasped.

"I'll be fine," I assured Leon, "You don't have to worry. I've got that first aid spray you gave me." I smiled weakly and pulled it out of my pocket for emphasis.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. But I appreciate your concern." Leon backed off, but he still stood over me as I used the first aid spray, which was mixed with a red and green herb. I used up all of it, and while the gash still throbbed, it wasn't excruciating anymore. Leon helped by wrapping a cloth around my stomach as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.

"There," he announced, "That should take care of it."

"Thanks," I told him. He helped me up, and as we approached the lever that was in the jail cell, I said to him, "How did you get to be so sweet and caring? Almost everyone I've met has been a real hardass." _Case in point: Jack Krauser, _I added as a silent afterthought.

Leon pulled the lever and then explained, "It's my job to protect those in need. It feels good to help other people. Haven't you ever done something that made you feel like a better person?"

I considered the question. When was the last time I had done a good deed for someone in my family, like Mom or Alexis? "You don't know everything that I've done," I told him as we made our way back up the stairs, "I'm not a good person." I threw a furtive glance in Ashley's direction, remembering how I had helped to kidnap her in the first place. I regretted it now. I didn't expect Leon to comfort me on that sentiment, nor did I want him to; it was just the truth.

"_Muere, muere, muere…_" voices suddenly chanted again, which made all of us stop short. A few monks with chains and shields emerged from the hallway we had just explored and they sprinted towards us. Leon instantly switched to his shotgun and blasted all of them until they decayed just like the villagers.

"Don't these guys ever give up?" Ashley pouted once we moved through the door Leon had opened with the lever.

"Apparently not," Leon said to her, "But we'll take care of them. Trust me."

But when we entered through the larger doors ahead of us and arrived in a water room, trouble was waiting for us. Another horde of zealots converged on us, and Leon unleashed his shotgun fury on everyone with a shield. Next to him, Ashley unleashed her door bar fury, and by now, her weapon was covered in blood and guts, which made me sick. She struck most of the zealots in the head, causing their heads to explode, some of them even releasing centipede-like Plagas. One of them loomed over me and extended its head, but I ducked and shot it with my handgun. We ran through the area and noticed a slot in the center of the room. Zealots chased after us, but we managed to subdue them while Leon broke open vases to collect herbs, ammo, and more.

"Come on, guys!" Ashley cried, "I see a passageway down here!" We followed her down a set of stairs, where we killed a few more monks and ran into a side room. There were two platforms on each side of the table up ahead, and once Ashley and I stepped on one of them, Leon adopted a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Wait there for a minute, girls," he whispered, and we watched silently as he ran to step on the other platform. Sure enough, we felt the rumbling of the room from above us, and we wondered what that sound could be. Shortly afterwards, our welcoming committee arrived; zealots with chains, shields and crossbows surged into the cramped room.

"Hey, they're throwing a welcoming party for us," Leon joked as he shot all of them with his trusty shotgun.

"I feel so honored," Ashley added, "They shouldn't have."

"You guys are too much," I said, rolling my eyes and reloading my TMP, which I had switched over to at some point in the fight. For a while, I wondered if the enemies were ever going to stop swarming into the room, but after a while, when it seemed like everything was clear, we returned to the water room above us. The first thing we noticed was a crank that had definitely not been there before. Ashley instantly reached for the crank and began to turn it while Leon and I shot at the other monks that tried to attack us. Once Ashley lowered the staircase that was in front of us, three enemies with scythes barreled towards us, but one of them suddenly stopped and threw his scythe like a boomerang.

"AHH!" all three of us cried, the sharp blade cutting each of us on the chest. Leon responded by blowing our attacker's head off until even the centipede Plagas hiding underneath it were destroyed. It amazed me how I wasn't dead yet, even after all the damage I had taken so far, which I was sure had caused me to lose a lot of blood.

Ahh, well. Back to the story. After we ran around a few more sets of stairs and picked up some valuable items, Ashley suddenly stopped. "Look, there's a crank over there!" she shouted, pointing to a crank that was on top of the ledge above us.

"There's another one over there, too!" I pointed out. Ashley raced to one of the ledges and turned back to face Leon.

"Here," she said, "Give me a boost, will ya? I'll go turn that crank." Leon complied, letting Ashley climb over his shoulders again to get to the top.

"Watch out for me!" she added, running to go complete her task. Leon turned to me next.

"I guess you want to work on the other crank?" he guessed correctly. I just nodded, so he lifted me up to Ashley's level, and I began turning the other crank. Since there was nothing but water in front of us, we guessed we would raise a platform of some kind.

Leon covered for us, shooting down all the cultists that approached him aggressively and even taking care of the ones that tried to grab me and Ashley. A few of them we had kicked on our own before turning the cranks again. It was hard work, I realized; my arms were getting sore. _That's probably why Leon and Krauser must work out every day, _I thought, rotating the crank over and over again. My arms stung a little bit once I let go of it and watched a bridge surface from the water. I glanced over at Ashley and saw she had finished her end as well. While Leon was catching her as she jumped, I climbed back down, stumbling a little bit as my feet hit the ground.

"You girls okay?" Leon asked once we all regrouped. We nodded.

"Good. Let's get out of here." And as more zealots charged towards us, we hopped across the bridge and ran through the large doors up ahead. _Too many ominous double doors for comfort, _I thought wryly to myself.

When we approached the Merchant (for the umpteenth time), he grinned and commented, "Wow, you three strangahs are doin' all right, eh? You've made it this far already."

"It's been a tough ride," I assured him while Leon sold some more spinels and violet hurs and then tuned up his Red 9.

"Well good luck to you then, strangahs," the Merchant told us, "It's a tough journey ahead of you."

"How reassuring," Ashley muttered darkly under her breath. We waited with him while Leon ran around, broke open more vases, and collected the corresponding items.

"Got everything?" the President's daughter question the agent. He nodded, which was our signal to keep moving. The hallway in front of us appeared to be a dead end, but we marched through anyway. Along the way, Ashley began to cough up blood into her hands. We all stopped walking and stared at her.

Resting his hand on her shoulder, Leon asked, "Are you all right?"

For a second, I could have sworn I saw her eyes flash red. She frowned, pushed Leon away from her, started running down the hallway, and snapped, "I'm _fine_! Leave me alone!" What was up with the sudden change in the President's daughter?

"Ashley, wait!" Leon cried, but he was too late, for in that moment, some spikes shot out of the floor and nearly impaled Ashley. "Oh, shit!" I cursed out loud.

However, the scare was far from over; some more spikes protruded from the ground, forcing Ashley to run all the way to the dead end wall. "Ashley!" I shouted, watching as something strapped her to the wall and restrained her. More rumbling followed suit, and like I had not too long ago, Leon shouted, "Ashley!"

"What's going on?" Ashley shrieked, the wall turning until she was trapped on the other side.

"Damn it!" I cursed again.

"Don't worry, Ashley!" Leon shouted, "We're coming for you!"

In that moment, I doubly regretted ever helping to kidnap her. She could die at any moment and Leon would kill me if he ever discovered what I had done.

Suddenly, I began to feel sick as well, and I clutched my stomach. Although, this pain felt different; my neck began to throb uncontrollably once again. _Wesker's virus! _I realized, _It must be finally taking its effect on me. _

"Not you, too!" Leon cried, steadying me by my shoulder.

"I'll be fine, Leon," I insisted, clutching my neck and massaging it to stop the pain.

"Really? You don't look like you are."

"We've got to find Ashley." I was trying to steer him away from talking about me, lest any unwanted information were to be leaked out. Leon shrugged off my strange behavior, and as we about-faced and walked back the way we came, Leon's communicator suddenly beeped.

"Hunnigan, what happened?" Leon asked with relief, "The transmission got cut off."

"Hee hee hee hee hee hee!" a familiar voice cackled, making our hairs stand on end, and shortly afterwards, Ramon Salazar appeared on the screen.

"_What the fuck_?" I roared, taking in the short man's face.

Leon echoed my anger. "Salazar!" he snapped, "How'd you…?"

"We've jacked the line," Salazar taunted from his end, "We didn't want you telling everyone any unnecessary information."

"You didn't tamper with my line, either, did you?" I growled.

"Oh, no, Miss Fagan. We've got something special in store for you." _Yeah, I bet you do, _I thought angrily to myself.

"Where's Ashley?" Leon demanded.

Salazar chuckled. "Aw, so she fell into one of our wonderful traps. We'll make sure we find her; don't you worry about her."

"Don't even _think _about hurting her!" Leon boomed, but Salazar ignored him.

"Oh, yes. I let our miserable insects out for some exercise down in the sewers," he explained to us.

"What insects?" I asked.

"You'll see." He laughed again.

"Thanks," Leon said sarcastically, "That should keep us company 'cause boredom _kills _us!"

"I look forward to our next encounter…in another life." He hung up, leaving Leon in a state of anger.

"I guess we have no choice," he said, "We'll have to go down to the sewers." I gulped, and we made our way through a small door we had spotted to our left. A ladder and some narrow hallways later, a running noise stopped us short.

"What was that?" I whispered, reaching for my TMP. The hallways were dark, which of course, added to the intense atmosphere.

"I don't know," Leon replied, taking out his flashlight and flipping it on. The running noise greeted us again while we turned to our right and broke open a wooden box down the hallway.

"Leon!" I shouted all of a sudden after I swore I saw something jumping in the distance. Just like that, it disappeared once again.

"What is it? Did you see something?"

"Yeah, over there. But it's gone now."

Suddenly, something screeched, and out of nowhere, drops of acid began pouring down on both of us. "AHH!" we screamed, and in that moment, Leon saw what I did; a rather large bug with burning, red eyes. He blasted it with his TMP, but it quickly hopped back and disappeared once again.

"Audrey, flash grenades!" he cried, and I grabbed one from my belt as he retrieved one as well.

"Ready?" he asked. I nodded.

"Go!" We both threw our flash grenades as we ran down the hallway, and a few more of the invisible bugs suddenly appeared in our line of sight. We unleashed our TMP fury on them, and although it took a while, they were finally down.

As I reloaded my TMP, I sighed and asked, "Did you face anything like this in Raccoon City?" I knew it was probably wrong to ask such a thing at this time, but I couldn't help myself; since I was so devoid of knowledge of _Resident Evil, _I needed to know.

"Not quite like this," Leon replied, "But it was still just as bad." I only nodded, but was taken aback at what Leon said next.

"I confronted bug-like enemies in South America a few years ago, though," he told me, "When I was there investigating Bio Organic Weapons with my partner, Jack Krauser." I froze for a minute, my heart beating in anticipation.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, now completely curious, as we moved forward and continued to wend our way through the sewers.

"You wouldn't know Krauser," Leon said to me, though I couldn't help but smile wryly to myself; Leon didn't know how wrong he was.

"Anyway, the two of us were sent there to locate Javier Hidalgo because we discovered he had approached Umbrella about a virus. The Veronica virus, to be exact; I'll tell you that story another time. Anyway, we found him and learned that he had infected his own daughter with the Veronica virus in order to prevent her from dying of a disease she had. But she was able to stay human; Javier had been taking organs from the bodies of fifty missing girls and regularly transplanting them. Needless to say, I ended up taking Manuela back to the United States and handing her over to the government."

_Whoa, _I thought to myself, _This is going to take a while to sink in. _"And Krauser?" I pressed, "What about him?"

"Nobody knew what happened to him after that mission. Then, a few months later, I got a call saying he had perished in a helicopter crash." _I could tell him right now that Krauser's alive, _I thought, _I don't know how he would react, though, so maybe I should wait. _

"So…Umbrella giving Javier the virus to help his daughter is a good thing. Right?" I asked cautiously, testing myself to see if I could get away with keeping my secret.

Leon turned to face me with an incredulous look on his face. "Audrey," he started in a surprised tone of voice, "You said you knew about Umbrella already."

And in that moment, I began to have some serious doubts about who exactly I was working for.


	11. Maze of Death and Confusion

Once again, thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story! I owe all of you! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Audrey is mine.

_

* * *

_

_"I'm sorry, Krauser," Saddler apologized as we sat in the throne room together. So far, I had managed to discover that Los Illuminados had a backup plan in mind: to send a military force to the United States. But that was all. _

_"I know I just returned not a few hours ago," he continued while I just listened and twirled my knife in my hand, "But I've got to go back to the castle." _

God damn it, _I thought angrily, _Make up your mind already! _"Why?" was all I asked. _

_"Because I've just gotten word that my researcher has stolen the sample!" _

Luis Sera, _I thought. "We've got to get it back!" I declared, stashing my knife. _And then I've got to get it over to Wesker, _I added to myself. _

_"I will go," Saddler decided, "In the meantime, I'm promoting you to my second in command." I didn't say a word at first. _

_"Wow," I gasped, "Thank you, Lord Saddler." I bowed quickly and then moved to follow Saddler back to the dock…again. _

_"Keep my soldiers in line while I'm…attending to the researcher." And just like that, he climbed into a small airplane and flew back over to the castle. I just rolled my eyes and watched him leave. _

_But wow! Second in command! Saddler must have been easing up on his attitude towards Americans, or, furthermore, he must have trusted me completely now. He was aware that I would never do anything to betray him (well, except for managing to steal the sample from right under his nose, but that was another story). _

_I reached for my communicator and contacted Salazar. "How are your friends holding up there?" I asked him, referring to Leon, Ashley, and Audrey. _

_"Better than expected, Mr. Krauser," Salazar replied, "The girl has fallen into one of my many ingeniously designed traps. And Mr. Kennedy and Miss Fagan are taking rather heavy beatings from my men. They will not make it alive out of this castle." I didn't respond immediately. _

_"Oh, and I also jacked Mr. Kennedy's line and cut Miss Fagan off as well," he reported. _

_I froze. "I can understand you jacking Leon's line, but Audrey's?" I snarled, "That wasn't part of the plan!" _

_"It is now," Salazar said triumphantly, "It was Saddler's wish that I cut her off too." _

_"I wish he had let me know he was going to let you do that," I mumbled to myself, out of earshot of Salazar. _

_"It doesn't matter now, Mr. Krauser," the Spaniard assured him, "I have everything under control." _

_"If you say so," I mumbled again as I hung up. _

* * *

Leon and I's journey through more of the castle was a quiet one after he told me a little bit about his mission in South America. I didn't really know what to make of all this; different versions of the same story were being thrown at me. Who was lying, and who was telling the truth? Was either one better than the other?

After we had finished off all the invisible bugs in the sewers, we had traveled through more of the castle, even subduing a zealot who had taken control of a machine gun in the center of the room. By now, Leon had begun speaking again, shouting out orders to kill every single enemy that tried to attack us. _Looks like months of armed combat training finally comes in handy, huh? _I thought to myself as I ran forward and shot enemies that were in front of us.

Salazar had appeared once more in person to dole out more threats to us. Not that Leon was afraid, of course; he had talked back to the shorter man a few times, and although Salazar was clearly pissed, he still left us to the mercy of his goons. In the chaos, I ended up covering for Leon while he ran around and deactivated the security in order to reach a platform in the middle of the room. Inside the glass container was a chest, and when Leon opened it, he found a goat ornament laying just underneath the cover. "Audrey!" he cried, waving me over.

When I approached him, he said happily, "Here's one of the ornaments for that wall!"

"All right!" I replied, grinning, "Now we're getting somewhere!" It seemed that Leon had decided to put our small tiff over Umbrella behind us for now, because he was being perfectly cheerful again. But as I looked into his eyes, I noticed his smile did not travel up to them; Umbrella, whatever his problem was with them, was still on his mind. I guessed when the time was right, he would tell me that story about the Veronica virus.

After trekking through more silent passageways, we arrived in the outdoor gardens area, where a large maze greeted us. "Man, I haven't been in one of those since I was a kid!" I whispered to Leon, who nodded in agreement. Up ahead was a closed door, and when we approached it to get a closer look, we made out some faint writing inscribed on top of an empty slot: _Two moons make one…_

Suddenly, Leon's communicator crackled, and when he went to answer it, we saw it was Salazar again. "Mr. Kennedy, Miss Fagan," he started in a falsely sweet voice, "Still alive, I see? So, do you two like my garden?"

"Yeah," I replied sarcastically, "I love mazes that look like they have 'death' written all over them."

"I see you've managed to work in a little of your twisted taste here, too," Leon added.

Salazar chuckled at our responses and explained, "Sagacious as I am, even I get lost here sometimes. Even if it takes your whole life, you'll never get out. Do you know that no one dies without a cause? You both will satisfy the stomachs of my cute pets. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to tie up a few loose ends. Like chasing down a couple of rats."

"Two rats?" Leon muttered to himself as Salazar ended the transmission, "If one's Luis, then who's the other? There an intruder besides us?"

"_Cute pets_?" I repeated, staring at Leon incredulously, "Last time he said something like that, we ended up fighting invisible, acid-spitting insects!"

Leon smiled wryly and said, "Let's go check out that maze." I nodded and we hurried down the stairs and through the main gates.

Growling greeted us the minute Leon broke some barrels open to collect ammo, and, just like on the bridge outside of the church, more of those lethal wolves appeared, slashing at us with their tentacles. "Not these bastards again!" I cried, shooting them with my TMP while Leon did the same.

Once they were down, Leon looked around for a minute. "Let's go this way first," he decided, pointing towards a pathway that was only dimly lit by a torch. We crept around the maze, silence taking over once more, which made me break out into a sweat. I was getting used to this type of atmosphere, but it still didn't make me feel comfortable. I stuck close to Leon the whole time.

In a gate up ahead of us were two more wolves, which we quickly neutralized before moving on in the maze. While the two of us continued silently running through the maze, Leon suddenly turned and went down another passageway. "Leon?" I cried.

"I saw a treasure chest somewhere around here," he replied, "I'll be right back." But his voice faded as he did so. _Well, I'm not just going to stand around here and wait for those wolves, _I thought, _I'll try and find one of the moon halves. _So reloading my TMP, I set out to find at least one of them. I pushed my way through tall hedges and finally took note of the cold breeze that blew against my skin; it felt good after running around for such a long time. In front of me was a staircase, so I jogged up it two stairs at a time and discovered a fountain in the middle.

_There's one of the moon halves! _I realized as I picked it up and carefully placed it in my pocket. "Leon!" I cried, not caring to keep my voice down; from where I was standing, I spotted him running around, and at the sound of my voice, he looked up and waved back. I leaped down from the staircase (feeling a little pain in the process), and began trying to find my way to the agent. However, I soon became hopelessly lost, only surrounded by ominous hedges and the growls of the wolves. Raising my TMP in my shaking hands, I darted through the gardens, relying on the torches around me and the wolves that were surely nearby.

Suddenly, what felt like fangs sank into my ankle; with a scream, I fell to the ground, and when I looked up, I saw that I was surrounded by some more wolves. But something strange happened in that moment. When one of the wolves knocked me down to the ground, I felt my mind suddenly wander off into La La Land, only it was more painful. I could feel my eyes fill up with blood, and my breathing became more savage as I picked myself up again. Something slithered around in my neck, where that monster in the jail cell had left scars, and I didn't feel like myself. I could also feel Las Plagas working their magic on me as well, and I screamed in pain.

I raced towards the wolves, plowing into them with great speed and force until they were obliterated. Some of the canine beasts backed off, but others sprinted towards me again, and without my volition, I slaughtered them all. A maniacal cackle erupted from my lips, which scared me shitless.

"Audrey!" I heard Leon shout from a distance, and when I turned to face him, I noticed he backed away from me a little bit. I snarled at him and stared him down with my red eyes, challenging him. _He is a coward, just like Krauser had said he was, _I thought angrily.

"Are you all right?" he asked as calmly as he could, even though I could see him reaching for something in his pocket. I growled again and raced towards him, knocking him to the ground. We struggled for quite some time, with me hoping that he would give in and let me do what I wanted to him. He scratched my arm, and I let go of him.

"Audrey, it's me!" he insisted, "It's Leon!"

"AHHH!" I yelled, kicking him in the stomach. I wouldn't hear any reason, any excuses; I wanted to kill. I _had _to kill. That was when it happened; I felt Leon's hand cover my mouth, and I suddenly felt tired. I was losing this battle.

While I coughed and gagged, I felt the blood recede from my eyeballs, as well as the self-control I normally had over myself. I collapsed to the ground, trembling a little bit as I did so. "Audrey?" Leon started again, resting his hand on my shoulder.

I turned to face him and exhaled. "Leon," I sighed, "What happened to me?"

"Well…um…you just tried to attack me now. You looked like one of them."

_Oh no, _I thought sadly, burying my face into my hands. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry if I hurt you," I apologized. Leon looked away and pulled something out of his pocket. I could tell he was very uncomfortable.

"I found one half of the moon ornament. I see you found the other one?"

I just nodded and handed it over to him. "Let's just get out of here," I whispered, and he led me out of the maze of death. Along the way, I felt horrible; I had attacked Leon and had even fantasized about killing him for a second. _But no, that wasn't you, _I told myself, _It was Las Plagas and Wesker's virus. _I still didn't feel good about it.

"Back there, in the maze," Leon started again as he combined the two moon halves, "What was that on your neck? It looked like some sort of virus."

I froze. "I don't know what you're talking about," I lied, "Why?"

Leon shrugged. "No reason," he replied, opening the door after inserting the full moon ornament. As soon as we stepped inside, however, a new voice greeted us.

"Put your hands where I can see them!" a familiar voice demanded, and I turned slightly to see someone pressing a gun into Leon's back.

Leon tensed up. "Sorry," he responded, "But following a lady's lead just isn't my style."

"Put them up _now_!" the woman demanded again, and that was when I recognized the voice. _Ada! _

Leon whirled around, grabbed Ada's gun out of her hand, and grabbed her arm. I just watched in amazed silence as she performed a kickass cartwheel, knocking her gun away from Leon, and flipping it into the air. She caught it, and when she went to reach for the blond agent's gun, he took his knife out and held it up to her throat.

Leon scoffed. "Bit of advice," he said to her, "Try using knives next time. Works better for close encounters." Ada stepped back and just stared at the two of us. The exchange that followed surprised me.

"Leon," she started, removing her sunglasses, "Long time no see." _They know each other? _I asked myself, _Leon doesn't look too happy to see her for some reason. _

"Ada," the older man said with a bit of edge, "So it _is _true."

Agent Wong only smirked and tried not to meet my gaze. "True?" she repeated, "About what?"

"You working with Wesker." Now Ada was _definitely _avoiding the fact that I was in the room. Unlike previous confrontations, I decided this was one I should probably stay out of.

"I see you've been doing your homework," she said to Leon, dropping her sunglasses. I peeked at them and noticed that they were flashing.

"Why, Ada?" Leon asked with a disappointed tone in his voice.

"What's it to you?"

"Why are you here? Why'd you show up like this?"

"Hmm." The sunglasses that had been flashing suddenly released a brilliant, white light, and while Leon was distracted, Ada bent down, grabbed her gun, and made for the window. "See you around," she told him by means of a goodbye, and she jumped out the window.

"Ada." Leon ran over to the window sill and peeked outside while Ada and I silently glanced at each other. She nodded and then disappeared once again.

Leon walked around the room and began collecting some different items, all while mumbling to himself. "I can't believe it," he whispered under his breath, "I thought she was dead all this time, and she ends up working with Wesker!"

I caught my breath in my throat. What was Leon's problem with Albert Wesker? "Leon?" I asked cautiously.

He looked up and glanced at me. "You seemed pretty defensive over finding out she was working with Wesker," I said slowly, not wanting to draw suspicion towards myself. But he still gave me a similar look he had given me in the sewers.

"You would be, too, if you knew someone who was working for him," he answered, "After everything he's done with Umbrella."

I couldn't find my voice; now I was even more curious about who I was working for, now that Leon had brought it up, but I knew now was not the time to talk about it. We had to find Ashley.

* * *

**Seeing Leon again left me with mixed emotions. On one front, I was relieved that he was still alive and well, but on the other front, I was sad to see him disappointed at who I was working for. Of course, he didn't know I was still working for the Organization, but I couldn't let him know that. **

**I entered the maze right next to me when my intercom beeped. To my disappointment, it was Wesker and not the Organization. However, I reveled at his news. "Luis has succeeded in retrieving the sample," he announced, showing me a map of the castle, "He's waiting in the castle. Get in contact with him ASAP." **

**"Understood," was all I said. **

**"****And that US government agent, Leon. If you do happen to encounter**** him, put him out of commission. We can't let him interfere with our plans." **

**I was no longer happy at this next order. "He has no idea what's going on. He's nothing we need to worry about," I insisted, "Besides, Audrey is there serving as a distraction. He'll never catch on to us." **

**"He's a survivor of Raccoon City. We can do without the extra distraction. Take him out." Wesker hung up, leaving me with an uncomfortable sensation in my gut. **

**"Leon," I whispered under my breath. We had both come so far since Raccoon City; I didn't want to hurt him if it wasn't necessary. No, I wouldn't do this. I would only focus on retrieving the sample. **_**Guess I better find Luis, **_**I thought, beginning my adventure through the maze.**


	12. Inner Tug of War

Chapter Twelve is here! Feast your eyes on what is possibly the longest chapter in the entire story so far! I enjoyed writing this one, so I hope you like it, too! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Audrey is mine.

_Italics- _Ashley's POV (yeah, I know this is usually for Krauser, but this time, it's for Ashley)

_

* * *

After we find Ashley, I'm going to sit down with Leon and ask him about Umbrella_, I thought to myself as Leon finished dealing with the Merchant in front of us. "Where's the other lass that was traveling with you, eh?" he asked us.

I sighed, but Leon answered before I got a chance to. "She was captured by that Salazar bastard," he growled, and the Merchant nodded sympathetically.

"You all seem like decent people, eh?" he assured us, "Find her quickly before the eighth castellan does away with all of you. I'll tune up your weapons for ya, just for that." Leon and I handed over all our guns and waited while the Merchant upgraded them.

"Thank you," we told him.

"Come back any time!" he said, cheerfully waving us on. We continued to move through the castle and into the next room, where a small passageway to the right revealed another room full of wooden boxes and small vases (one which contained a snake that left behind a chicken egg for some strange reason). Leon went into a frenzy trying to break open every wooden box, vase, or barrel in order to collect more ammo (some of which he relinquished to me). When we returned to the room we had originally entered from, Leon rang a bell on a counter, which revealed a picture with a beer bottle attached to it. Leon took out his rifle and shot the bottle, causing it to explode and open a door next to us. "This place is just full of surprises, huh?" Leon joked, his usual cheerful grin reappearing on his face.

"Yeah," I replied, smiling, "Surprises that we're getting used to." We passed through the door we had just opened, only to suddenly feel more rumbling. From the ceiling, a gate slammed down to the ground, trapping Leon and leaving me outside on the other side. A few zealots leaped down from a hole above us and surrounded me. A familiar growl also echoed, and something leaped down into the cage with Leon, and I gasped when I saw it was another blind Wolverine like the one in the jail cell.

The monks spoke to each other in rapid Spanish, mentioning something about a "Garrador". They all began to laugh and point at the beast in the cage, and from that I made the connection. _That blind Wolverine is the Garrador! _

After I finished neutralizing the zealots that were trying to attack me, I turned my worried gaze back to Leon, who was having a really tough time avoiding this Garrador due to the small space. Unfortunately, he had to hurt himself a little bit to kill this clawed monster. He used a few incendiary grenades and then blasted it with a rifle again. This Garrador, however, was a little stronger than the one in the prison, so Leon had to pump more lead into it before it finally went down. The gate never let up, but Leon kicked open one of the doors after shooting the padlock off of it. "Are you okay, Leon?" I asked him while we killed a few more zealots that had jumped down from the ceiling.

"Yeah," he replied, showing me a cut on his arm, "That Garrador got me, though."

"Will you be okay?"

"It's just a cut. I'll be fine." He quickly used a spray mixed with a green and yellow herb to heal the cut before we move on to the next area. On the other side was a door, but there was no way to get over there. We soon spotted a lever on the floor below us, so I waited while Leon climbed down and pulled it. Before we knew it, a bridge extended from the ledge I was standing on to the other side. With that, more zealots in both red and black robes arrived and tried to attack us, but we pulverized them all. Leon collected some shotgun ammo before he climbed back up to my level. To our left, we had spotted a large glass container, so we were curious as to what was in there. A few more monks chased us across the bridge, but one bullet to the lit lamp above our heads put them out of their misery. We rounded the corner and leaped down towards the container, which contained some pretty sweet items. Leon broke the glass with his knife, and we both went crazy collecting TMP ammo, rifle ammo, incendiary grenades, shotgun shells, and even another pretty awesome surprise.

"A free rocket launcher!" I gasped as Leon reached for it and strapped it to his back, "It's not every day you find one of those."

"That's for sure," Leon replied, "That Merchant charges too much for just one of these."

"I know!" I agreed, "Thirty thousand pesetas for one rocket launcher? That's insane!"

Even the Merchant commented on this when we met up with him again five minutes later. "I see you two found a free rocket launcher, eh?" he asked, chuckling. We just glanced at each other and rolled our eyes.

"We both found some spinels and violet hurs that we need to sell," Leon replied, taking mine out of my hand and setting them down on the counter. While we waited for the Merchant to count up the number of pesetas we deserved, I turned to Leon and asked, "Do you think we'll find Ashley soon?"

"I think so," he answered, "We've just got to keep our chins up." When we were finished with the Merchant, we continued onward to the next section. We were on a high up floor, where there was another small door in the corner and larger double doors ahead of us. As we started walking, a door opened behind us, and a familiar voice rang out.

"Leon! Audrey!" Luis shouted. We both turned around and watched as he entered the same room we were in.

"Luis!" I cried happily.

He held up both his hands, one which contained what looked like the master sample of Las Plagas that I had seen from Wesker's pictures. What was in the other hand, I didn't know. "I got it!" he cried triumphantly.

"All right!" Leon cheered, though our happiness was short-lived. Suddenly, Luis stopped, the grin disappearing from his face. He winced in pain as we all heard a soft _thump. _In the seconds that followed, something penetrated through his chest, and quite painfully from the looks of it. He screamed as he was lifted into the air by the tendril that had impaled him, and I screamed as well. Leon only watched in mute horror.

"Oh my God!" I cried as Leon shouted at the same time, "Luis!"

Luis groaned and dropped the Plagas sample, and before it could hit the ground, another hand reached out and grabbed it; to our horror, it was Saddler. Using his tendril, he slammed Luis to the ground and then retracted the parasite back to underneath his robes. Leon and I were so horrified we couldn't even speak.

"Now that I have the sample," Saddler snapped at the Spaniard, "You serve me no purpose."

"Saddler!" Leon and I both yelled angrily.

Saddler just gazed at a coughing Luis before glaring at us. "My boy Salazar will make sure both of _you _follow the same fate." He scoffed and walked away, so Leon and I ran over to Luis, who was dying really fast. The hole in his chest leaked a lot of blood, and I couldn't help but start to cry a little bit.

"Stay with me, Luis," Leon pleaded, resting a hand on his stomach.

"Don't worry, Luis," I added as softly as I could, "We'll get you help. Just hang in there."

But Luis only coughed and croaked, "I am a researcher…hired by Saddler. He found out what I was up to."

"Don't talk," Leon commanded. But Luis then pressed something into his hand.

"Here," he wheezed, "It should suppress the growth of the parasite. The sample…Saddler took it. You've got to get it back."

"We'll get it back if it's the last thing we do," I assured him, but I felt him grab both our arms as he coughed again.

"Please, you two," he whispered, "D-don't become like…like them." And with that, the light left his eyes as he passed into another life.

"Luis!" Leon cried, shaking him, though we both knew it was no use, "LUUUUUIIIIISSSS!" I bowed my head in sadness for a minute, but when I looked up again, I spotted Ada in a far corner, and she was on her communicator with someone. _Probably Wesker, _I thought.

"They'll pay for your death, Luis," Leon whispered, "I promise." I just looked up at him and nodded.

"Come on, Audrey," he said to me, helping me up from the ground, "We've got to keep going now. We don't have a choice." We began circling around the room when we suddenly heard another familiar voice.

"Help!" it screamed, and when we ran down a small set of stairs, we spotted Ashley down below. She was still strapped to the wall, but she no longer had her door bar with her. "Ashley!" we both shouted, and she looked up in relief.

"Oh, it's you guys!" she said happily, "Thank God!"

"Just hang tight," Leon told her, "We'll get you out of there." Ashley stopped squirming and stood as still as she could as Leon aimed his rifle at her straps. She screamed every time one of them was destroyed, but was immensely relieved when she was free. She sighed and put her hands on her hips.

"Talk about a near death experience," she quipped, "What do we do now?"

That was a good question. How was she going to get back up to our level. Surprisingly, the answer rested in the hands of a few enemies that suddenly appeared.

"Ashley, get out of there!" Leon cried, watching as the enemies converged on the President's daughter. At first, Ashley remained where she was, but then she began running around the lower level while trying to find an exit. Meanwhile, Leon shot at most of the zealots with his rifle while I chucked a few grenades at any stragglers.

"The door is locked!" Ashley shouted up to us as she tugged on one of the doorknobs, "I can't open it!"

Another door opened, and more enemies, including a zealot in a red robe, poured into the area. "¡_Mátala_!" he commanded, pointing at the President's daughter, "¡_Allí está_!" Ashley ran around again as we killed off the rest of the enemies, and during all this, I noticed how furious Leon looked. He was clearly still upset over Luis, and when he had said they would pay for the Spaniard's death, he meant it.

"Ooh," the red zealot gasped, collapsing to the floor and releasing something shiny. From the corner of my eye, I saw Ashley run over and grab the object. "I got the key!" she shouted, "I can get out! Don't go anywhere, I'll be right up!"

"Good luck!" I cried to her as she unlocked the door and bolted through another unseen passageway. I stared for a second before I finally stashed my handgun and sat down on the ledge. Leon joined me and just smiled.

"She's tough," he assured me, "A lot tougher than one would think. She'll be okay." I just nodded.

* * *

_My heart pounded as I made my way through another part of the castle. Where it would take me, I didn't know, as long as it led me back to Leon and Audrey. I didn't want to keep them waiting. _

_During our journey, I had watched as the two of them collected various items from drawers, cabinets, boxes, barrels, and vases, so I decided to do the same. I found a spinel and a yellow herb in the first room I encountered, and then a green herb in the next room. In that room was also one of those freaky cultists that had been trying to kidnap me all night. Shivers went down my spine just thinking about what could happen if they succeeded. No, I wouldn't let that happen. Unfortunately, my only weapon of self-defense, the door bar from the cabin in the village, was gone, so I could only use those conveniently placed lamps. _

_With a grunt, I threw one at the monk in front of me, and as he got caught in the blaze, I ran towards a small passageway on the other side, where I could crawl safely into the next room. So I did just that, taking note of the fact that the zealot I had just burned was too stupid to realize he had ways to catch up with me. I guessed that was good news for me, then, huh? _

_Another zealot waited for me in the other room, and this time, I had to use all three lamps in order to stop him from taking me. A gate stood closed to my left, where two cranks were situated on either end. _I've had enough practice turning cranks today, _I thought wryly to myself as I turned both cranks quickly, opening the two gates in front of me. Another creepy-looking hallway greeted me, where I found a red herb and quickly combined all three herbs to form a spray (Thanks, Leon!) I entered the door to my left, and as I collected some more items, including some handgun ammo, I noticed a dais in the middle of the room. _

Huh? _I thought to myself, _Wait a sec. There's a round hole in the center. But where will I find anything like that?

_My attention was drawn back to the hallway again, where a door down a path to the right seemed to call to me. _Whatever's in there, I guess I better check it out, _I decided, gulping and exploring the room that was beyond that door. _

* * *

With all the excitement that had been happening in both the village and the castle, I realized I was suddenly exhausted. I sighed and played with my handgun for a little bit while Leon reloaded most of his weapons. Ashley was still not back yet, but we still patiently waited for her.

Umbrella was also back on my mind. "Leon?" I started.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"There's something I've got to ask you." I took a deep breath and steeled myself.

"What is it?"

"Back in the sewers, when you said to me you thought I knew about Umbrella already…what did you mean?"

Leon stopped reloading his shotgun and stared at me again. "You said you had heard of Umbrella, but then you tried to make them out to be good guys," he explained, "And I have to ask you: you don't know much about them, do you?"

"To be honest, no. I've only heard of them in passing," I lied.

"What do you know about them?" I told him everything Wesker had told me (without revealing that I was working with them, of course). Leon just stared at me again, which made me nervous. He shook his head in exasperation.

"Wow, Audrey," he gasped, "Someone's been telling you misleading information. Umbrella is not trying to get back on everyone's good side." My heart beat furiously now.

"Then what is Umbrella all about?" I asked, "Tell me!"

Leon scooted closer to me, took a deep breath, and began his story. "Remember when I mentioned the Veronica virus?" he asked. I nodded.

"Here's the story behind that." And he proceeded to tell me about the origins of that virus, starting with the Ashford family, especially twins Alfred and Alexia Ashford. He mentioned Rockfort Island, where I assumed the Ashford twins dabbled in using this virus for their own purposes. Apparently, Alexia had gone into a cryogenic sleep for fifteen years in order to merge with the Veronica virus, which was named after her mother, Veronica Ashford. To make a long story short, Wesker had wanted Alexia to give up the virus, but she refused. The way Leon described Albert Wesker was very different from the Wesker I was working for; according to Leon Scott Kennedy, Wesker was power-hungry, and would do anything in order to advance the human race, even if it meant developing deadly viruses and even going so far as to infect himself. At that moment, something Wesker said to me two months ago replayed itself in my mind: _One day, when the time is right, you will understand. The new Umbrella will change this world, and you will embrace it. _Was that why he injected me with that virus? _Oh no, _I thought, suddenly feeling queasy.

Leon did not end there, though; he told me more about South America and his mission with Krauser. According to him, Wesker was the Umbrella researcher that Javier had contacted about the Veronica virus, and now, it made sense as to why Krauser was working with Wesker in the first place. I thought about the story Krauser had given me, and I felt even more sick as the pieces all started to fit together. Leon also delved into the Raccoon City incident in more detail, as well as some Mansion incident that had occurred months before Raccoon City. In those next few minutes, he told me everything he could about Umbrella Pharmaceutical, and I just silently listened. _I told Wesker I didn't know anything about Umbrella, and he used that against me to trick me into doing his dirty work, _I realized, _And I…I went along with it. No. It can't be true. It just can't! _

"Audrey?" Leon asked, noticing the horrified look on my face. Was I really that easy to read?

"I'm sorry, Leon," I apologized, "This is all so much to take in at once. This is going to take a while."

"At least you know the truth now."

Suddenly, I felt a rush of denial. "The _truth_?" I snapped, "How do I know you're telling the truth? How do I know you're not trying to use me for your own anti-Umbrella agenda?" _That was out of line, Audrey, _I told myself, but it was too late to take my words back.

For a minute, Leon looked angry. "You wanted to know about Umbrella," he replied, "And I told you. I was in the _middle _of Raccoon City when that G-virus was taking over! And my friend, Claire Redfield, was stuck on Rockfort Island when Alexia was using the Veronica virus!" He narrowed his eyes at me, looking genuinely pissed off for the first time.

"Besides," he continued, "Why are you getting so defensive over Umbrella, anyway? Is there something you're not telling me?"

I gaped at him. "_What_?" I shrieked, "What the hell would make you think that?"

"You're always defending that company like it's a god! Do you have connections to them or something?"

My eyes widened in horror at the accusations Leon was throwing at me. "Of course not!" I lied, even though I cursed myself at how accurate Leon actually was. Instead, I leaped up from where I was sitting and walked away in order to cool off. Tears of fury pricked at my eyes, and the two sides of Umbrella's story ate away at me on the inside. Now I was even more confused than before. _Krauser, _I thought, _I need to talk to him now to clear my head. What is he up to now? _

I heard approaching footsteps behind me, and I turned my head to see Leon walking up the stairs towards me. I could tell this time that he was not just going to drop this like he had other minor spats. He met my gaze for an instant before ignoring me once more. In the corner, a door opened up ahead, and we both turned our heads to see Ashley. "Leon!" she cried happily, "Audrey!"

"Ashley!" Leon replied, and Ashley pretty much threw herself into his arms, "You did good!"

She backed off a little bit, blushing. If I wasn't so angry and confused, I would have teased her about her having a possible crush on Leon, but I knew now was not the time. "I'm sorry if I was…" she apologized, but never finished.

"Don't worry about it," Leon said to her calmly as if our argument never happened, "Come on. Let's move on." Ashley approached me next and hugged me as well, even though I was far from deserving of her kindness. Leon just watched me with a neutral expression on his face.

"Here," Ashley spoke up, handing some items to Leon, "I found a spray, some handgun ammo, some jewels, and one of the ornaments for the wall."

"Thanks, Ashley," Leon told her, patting her on the shoulder. I just remained silent.

While we got situated, Leon's intercom beeped, and he answered it only to see Salazar's face. "Aww," he cooed, "What a touching moment we have here."

"All spoiled thanks to your interruption," Leon muttered darkly, "Why don't you do us all a favor and leave before the audience gets pissed off?"

Salazar chuckled. "You're nothing but an extra in my script, so don't get carried away. Your biggest scene is over."

"I don't ever remember being a part of your crappy script."

"Well, then, why don't you show me what a first-class script is like: through your own actions." He hung up, and Leon was looking more annoyed than ever.

"Let's keep going, girls," he said to us, giving me another neutral look. Ashley cautiously glanced from Leon to me and then back to Leon again as we finally exited through the double doors up ahead.

On the other side, there was another open pit that contained lava at the bottom, and the sweltering heat caused all of us to sweat. A one-manned carriage waited in front of us, so Leon quickly climbed on, turned around, and said to us, "Wait here, girls. I'll be right back." He rode ahead to another door in the distance, and as soon as he was gone, I breathed a sigh of relief. Ashley glanced questioningly at me as I slowly walked away from her.

"Is everything okay?" she asked me. I just nodded.

"I'm fine, thanks," I lied. I was not fine; my insides were still roiling with confusion over my situation. _Krauser, Leon, Krauser, Leon, _I thought, _Who should I believe? _

"Did something happen with Leon?" the President's daughter asked, "You two seemed pretty awkward around each other. Like you were mad at each other or something."

"Nothing happened, Ashley," I insisted, although she didn't believe me, and seeing that I wasn't in the mood to talk, she just dropped it, though she still scrutinized me suspiciously.

We waited for a few more minutes before Leon finally returned with the last ornament for the wall we had first encountered. We ran down another flight of stairs and hopped into a car that took us to another section of the castle. The ride was an awkward one; Leon and I still weren't really speaking since our argument from before, and I wondered if I should just tell him the truth about me. Ashley, thankfully, managed to distract me. "Look!" she cried, "We're back to where we started. One big circle, huh?"

"Yeah," Leon scoffed, "You'd think Salazar wouldn't make everything this convenient. Oh, well, works for us." He and Ashley chuckled a little bit, but I still didn't speak.

Leon silently inserted all the ornaments into the empty slots on the wall, and soon, the passageway we had noticed before was revealed again. _Let's get out of here, _I thought as we exited this part of the castle and took on the next part.

* * *

_**A knight room and a room with spikes later…**_

I felt relieved when Leon finally emerged from the large room with the King's Grail in his hands. This next part of our adventure had been harrowing, especially for Ashley. She had told us about how she had encountered similar knights during her journey back to us. The two of us had waited outside while Leon became trapped in said room; after a while, he managed to slaughter all of the knights that, for some reason, were infected with Las Plagas. The Queen's Grail had been no better; Salazar appeared in person again and nearly impaled us with spikes, but luckily, Leon and I had shot a few blinking lights on the ceiling, stopping the ceiling from crashing down on us. Then, to make matters worse, Ashley had nearly died as well, but we managed to save her before some zealots ran over her. Which now led to us neutralizing a few enemies and then inserting the two grails into their respective places.

On the other side was another hallway, and we all collected a few more items before moving on through more double doors. A large platform and a raised drawbridge greeted us.

At first, I didn't know if it was my imagination at first, but suddenly, I heard buzzing. To my horror, I realized it wasn't my imagination; one of those invisible bugs Leon and I had fought in the sewers flew down, grabbed Ashley, and made off with her. "Damn it, Ashley!" Leon cried, and I pointed my TMP at it.

"Leon, Audrey!" she cried, "Help!" but she was gone faster than we could shoot bullets.

More bugs swarmed around us. "Great!" Leon mumbled, "More of them!" He turned to me and spoke to me for the first time since our blow-up.

"Audrey, you take those bugs, and I'll take these ones!" All I did was nod, because I was more than surprised that Leon was speaking to me again. We defeated the bugs one by one while Leon lowered the drawbridge and used his rifle to shoot at the chains that was holding the bridge up. It seemed that was all Leon would talk to me about, because he never brought up Umbrella again. But as we moved on to dealing with the Merchant again, I asked, "Do you even want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" the agent asked.

"Umbrella," I pressed insistently. Leon's gaze hardened.

"Why? You don't believe me."

I recoiled. "I just wanted to talk about it without arguing again. I'm sorry for what I said before."

"Just forget about it, Audrey," Leon insisted, finishing with the Merchant and leading me through another passageway, and I realized that was something that was a part of Leon; even though he was brushing off our tiff, his tone of voice was still disappointed, like he wanted me to believe him. _Why do I have to be so fucking confused right now? _

We arrived outside again when Leon received another transmission from Salazar. "I wonder if you two can see me," he said in mock confusion.

"If you even _scratch _her, we'll break your bones," Leon threatened.

"First, we'll see if you can make it this far. I'll be waiting." Leon suddenly took out his binoculars and looked up to see Ashley, along with Salazar and his two robed goons. She had her hands tied behind her back.

"Shit!" Leon cursed under his breath, avoiding my gaze.

* * *

_**A tower with cranks, a bridge, and two unbelievably strong Garradors later…**_

"I think that's it for those enemies," Leon sighed, reloading his rifle after taking down the other Garrador. I only ran around and continued to collect some other items as the gates reopened in front of us. Leon waited for me and then we made our way up more sets of stairs. We pressed our ears to the door in front of us and heard Salazar's voice. "Jackpot," I whispered. Leon burst through the door and we ran inside.

"Ashley!" he cried, and we both saw that the President's daughter was kneeling on the floor while the two hooded creatures held spears in front of her to guard her. Salazar faced us and suddenly grinned one sick smile.

"Leon!" Ashley yelled.

"Mister Kennedy," Salazar began slowly, strangely only addressing Leon for some reason, "Don't you know when it's time to throw in the towel?" Leon frowned, and we all watched as Salazar pressed a button on one of the armrests of his chair. With a _whoosh, _the square in the floor Leon was standing on suddenly revealed itself to be a trap door, and screaming slightly, Leon fell through the hole. The strong gust knocked me backwards onto the floor, and I could only watch helplessly as Leon plunged downwards.

"No!" Ashley shouted, "Leon!" The trap door closed, leaving me feeling worse than I already did. The last conversation I had had with him was not a pleasant one, and I wished I could take it all back.

A few minutes passed, and Salazar lifted a speaker to his ear. "Hmm," he mused, "Where's the satisfying sound of one's impalement?" My mouth dropped open in horror. Silence took over, then followed by a ringing from Salazar's speaker.

"Ahh!" he cried, suddenly fuming, "How dare you? No more games! Kill him!"

"No," I whispered under my breath. The Spaniard stomped down the stairs slightly from his chair and pointed at the goon in the red robe.

"KILL!" he commanded, and the creature moved away from Ashley and towards a vent in the corner of the room. I watched silently as it finally removed its robe. I had to hold back my scream; it looked like something out of a science fiction movie, with its burning red eyes. It disappeared into the darkness.

"Quickly!" Salazar snapped, "We shall prepare for the ritual!" Ashley got up from the floor, and the beast in the black robe pushed her along.

"Leon," she whispered under her breath, staring at me, "You're alive."

"Move along!" Salazar demanded harshly, "All of you!" He glared at me before following Ashley and his bodyguard out of the room. I began to follow them when another voice stopped me.

"Hey, kid," that slightly gravelly voice greeted me, and I whirled around to see someone step out of the shadows of the corner of the room. The first thing that caught my eye was the gleam from a knife. _Krauser! _I thought, _He's here! _

"Hey, soldier," I replied, taking in Jack Krauser's rugged form once again. In the over nearly ten hours that I had been separated from him, I had almost forgotten what he looked like. I was sure I looked a mess, after taking damage from enemies, falling down in the dirt, and nearly drowning in the lake.

"Did you miss me?" he teased, tossing his knife up into the air and catching it. I know he was trying to joke, but surprisingly, I did miss him a little bit. On the other hand, though, after everything Leon had told me about Umbrella, I knew I had to ask him some questions. But I could wait till later.

"Would it surprise you if I said yes?" I asked, putting on a face that didn't show how rattled I was by all the recent events.

Krauser smirked. "No," he replied, reaching for something and placing it into my hand.

"You left this in the church," he said, "Your change of clothes. God only knows you'll need it now." He looked me up and down as he said this, sending a blush crawling up my cheeks.

I looked up at him, silently touched. "You kept them for me?" I asked, feeling tears prick my eyes once again, even though I fisted them away quickly, "Thank you."

"Oh, don't go all emotional now, kid," Krauser half-joked, "It's just partners helping each other out." But I just smiled weakly and took the pile of clothes out of his hands. _Now I'm even more confused, _I thought.

"I thought you hated me," I whispered. Krauser didn't reply, but before it even registered in my brain, I felt him gently take my arms and pull me in for a hug. Yeah, a _hug _from _Jack Krauser_! So random, right? I thought so. He felt warm, especially his chest, and I could feel his beating heart underneath his black T-shirt. His hand moved up and down my back, and although I was basking in his surprising tenderness, my gaze was still fixed on the trap door as I wondered what was happening to Leon and whether or not he was telling the truth about Umbrella.


	13. Turning Point

I was a little sad when I was writing this chapter, because I just realized I'm halfway finished with this story. No worries, though. I still enjoyed writing it all the same! :) Enjoy! Don't forget to read and review!

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Audrey is mine.

_Italics- _Back to Krauser's POV

* * *

I sighed blissfully as the water ran down my body; on the way out of Salazar's throne room, I had managed to find an empty bathing room during our walk out of the tower itself. Krauser waited while I just cleaned the dirt and blood off myself, and changed into my new clothes. _I hope I won't have to run around anymore, _I thought, _I just cleaned myself. The first thing I'm going to do when I get out of here is take a proper shower. _

Stuffing my old clothes in my bag, I left the room and met up with Krauser again until we walked outside, and he wrapped his arm around me. Salazar was a little ways ahead of us, and he turned around to stare at us every now and then. "Come on, you two!" he snapped, "We're on a schedule here! Let's go!"

"_Someone's _in a cheerful mood tonight," I whispered sarcastically under my breath. Krauser laughed and then scoffed right after that.

"Leon killed his right hand," he replied, "I'd be pissed off, too."

"Good," I said, which elicited a surprised look from Krauser.

"Well, you've changed," he commented, "Since when do you care about Leon Kennedy?"

I looked up at him. "Since I realized he wasn't evil like you said he was," I responded, "He's really nice, Krauser. At least, a lot nicer than you said he was."

"He's going against everything Umbrella stands for. You know that."

_Now's the time to ask about Umbrella, _I told myself. "Look," I started, "I've got to be honest with you: I'm having doubts about our motives, especially Wesker's."

Krauser raised his eyebrows in questioning. "Why would you say that?" he asked, and I forced myself to continue.

"Well…Leon told me some things about Umbrella that don't match up to what you and Wesker said." I didn't add that Leon and I had had an argument over this matter.

"Like what?"

I went ahead and told him everything Leon had told me while we were waiting for Ashley. "You knew all about how shady Umbrella appeared to be, didn't you?" I asked.

At first, Krauser didn't say anything, which made me realize that Leon was indeed telling the truth. "I didn't bargain for this, you know," I added, "To put my life on the line and murder people to help a company that doesn't even deserve it." Then, the older man opened his mouth and finally spoke.

"Wesker said you would understand someday," he said, "Besides, you can't go anywhere now."

"Why not?" I demanded.

"Once you start working for Albert Wesker, you're stuck with him for life. Take it from me, kid; I pretty much indebted myself to him after he helped heal my arm."

"And what else has he done for you besides that?"

"Nothing yet. Once he seals the deal with Tricell, he'll be rewarding me handsomely. And you, too."

Ahh, Tricell. That company's name rang bells; that was why Wesker sent us on this mission in the first place: to get the master sample of Las Plagas to hand over in order to unite with that corporation, which was going under the alias of 'S' at the moment. Krauser had told me all about Wesker wanting to form the new Umbrella with Tricell's leader. But _still. _Wesker tricked me into working for him! What was I supposed to say to that?

"You're thinking of leaving, aren't you?" Krauser asked, stealing the words right out of my mouth. I just looked up at him.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, "But I don't agree with this new Umbrella anymore. Wesker's out of his mind to think that deadly viruses will change everything. I'm going to find a way out of this hell, and then I'm going home." More tears filled my eyes (why did I always have to cry when I made some life-altering decision?) as I began traveling solo through another passageway that Salazar had gone down before. But to my surprise, Krauser rested his hand on my arm, pinching my new blue jacket a little bit.

"Audrey," he started. I turned to face him.

"Yes?" I asked softly.

"You forgot something." I smiled weakly, noticing the way he was staring at my neck and his close proximity to me. My stomach dropped out from underneath me.

"What?"

"Wesker healed you, too. What would he think if you just bailed on him at the last minute?"

I tilted my neck to the side, exposing the scars that were still there from two months ago. "Wouldn't that be a loss?" I mumbled, "Trust me, Wesker has enough people helping him out with Umbrella and Tricell. He doesn't need me."

But Krauser then moved his hand from my arm down to my waist, and I gasped in surprise. "Jack," I whispered, reaching up to trace my finger across the scar that ran down his face. I wondered for a fleeting moment how he got it, but I knew he wouldn't tell me right away.

Closer. And even closer he approached me until our foreheads were practically touching each other. My heart began to race, and I was powerless to stop it. _No! _I thought, _I'm leaving this place. Leaving Umbrella once and for all! _

The mood became tense, and I found my gaze fixated on Krauser's lips. I moved my finger from his scar to where it crossed over his mouth. I was leaning in closer and closer until a shrill voice interrupted.

"Mister Krauser!" Salazar snapped, stomping over to us, "Miss Fagan! The ritual will go on without you if you don't hurry up! Don't you have to take Ashley back to the island?"

* * *

_**A while later…**_

When we all arrived at another tower after passing through a room containing a huge statue of Salazar himself (talk about narcissistic), Salazar turned to Krauser and me. "I can feel the American agent arriving. Take Ashley to the ritual room upstairs. I want a few words with Mr. Kennedy."

Without looking at me, Krauser marched over to Ashley and began to lead her away. As soon as she saw me stand next to him, her eyes widened in comprehension. "You traitor!" she hissed under her breath. I looked away, feeling my guilt increase tenfold.

"I knew I recognized you from somewhere!" she shouted, "And all this time, I thought you were our friend!"

"Just move," Krauser snapped at the President's daughter, "We don't have all day."

"I don't care!" she yelled, staring wild-eyed at me, "Audrey! How could you do this to me? To Leon? I trusted you! _He _trusted you!"

I lifted my face to meet her angry expression. "I'm sorry it's come to this," I whispered to her.

"Damn right you're sorry!" Ashley replied, "I'll never forgive you for this! You've been working for Saddler this whole time, haven't you?" I looked away again as the President's daughter continued to fume.

As we were moving away from Salazar and his bodyguard, we suddenly heard the Spaniard clap his hands and say, "So nice you could join us, Mister Scott Kennedy."

"You again!" Leon growled.

"The sacred rite that is about to begin at this tower will bestow the girl with magnificent power. She will join us, become one of us."

"This is no ritual! This is terrorism!"

"Isn't that a popular word these days? Not to worry. We've prepared a special ritual just for you." I wasn't sure what happened next, because the further we walked away, the more distant Salazar's whimpers of pain sounded. The sound of an elevator echoed around us as Leon cried, "Stop!" from down below. The door opened and Salazar, holding his bleeding hand in agony, glared at us.

"Get in!" he ordered, and Krauser let me go first before he dragged Ashley in after us. As we rode the lift to the top of the tower, Ashley continued to glare at me.

"Why, Audrey?" she asked, but she didn't yell; she sounded more disappointed than anything.

"I don't know," I answered.

"You don't _know_?"

"No."

"Hush, you two!" Salazar snapped, and the remaining bodyguard ushered us all out of the elevator and into another large room, where an altar was situated in the middle and some kind of Plagas plant pods hung on the walls behind it. A few monks waited for us and they began talking excitedly in Spanish.

"So, Fagan," Krauser whispered to me, "Do you still want to leave Umbrella after this?" Ashley glowered at me from the corner of her eye. I ignored her and stared up at Krauser.

"Yes," I said, "As soon as this mission is over." We turned our attention back to the altar and watched Salazar situate Ashley onto the altar. I seriously hoped there wouldn't be any blood. What I really wanted to do was stop the ritual altogether, actually. This was all wrong, and I realized I should have never agreed to do Saddler or Wesker's dirty work, now that I was beginning to see the consequences of my actions.

"_Morir es vivir. Morir es vivir. Morir es vivir,_" the monks and Salazar chanted, all forming a circle around Ashley and the altar while Krauser and I watched from outside. While Salazar performed some kind of Plagas magic on the President's daughter, I found myself nodding off again, like I had in the maze. Next to me, Krauser wrapped his arm around me again and chuckled a little bit.

"Try to keep your head up, kid," he teased, "We can't have you falling asleep on us now." If he was angry with my decision to leave Umbrella, he did a pretty damn good job of hiding it.

Except I _wasn't _falling asleep; my mind was wandering off again, and the same frightening sensation I had experienced in the maze returned. It was not Las Plagas this time. I was sure it wasn't, because if it was, Leon and Ashley would be feeling the same way I did. _Wesker's virus, _I thought just before I felt my mind become twisted. I could feel a huge smile forming across my face at the scene in front of me. Just like in the car ride on the day I helped to kidnap Ashley, I felt a thrill of excitement run through my veins. There was no more guilt, and no more pain; it was just me and the virus acting as one.

More chanting from Salazar brought my attention back to the ritual. The eighth castellan stuck another needle into Ashley's neck, which I could only guess was more of Las Plagas. Her eyes turned red, like they had in the castle after the water room incident. "_Morir es vivir,_" the zealots continued with renewed fervor, "_Morir es vivir…_"

"Isn't this great, kid?" Krauser asked from my left. I stared up at him, thinking of an appropriate answer, as more of the virus flowed to my brain. I found myself nodding vigorously.

"Mister Krauser!" Salazar slurred, facing us, "You and Miss Fagan can escort Ashley to the island. Lord Saddler will be waiting for you."

"Yes," Krauser replied, bowing slightly, and I bowed as well. We lifted Ashley off of the altar, climbed down to the floors below us, and made our way through the double doors on the other side, out of the tower. The whole time, my head pounded from the increasing influence of the virus.

* * *

**Whew! I made it, **_**Leon thought to himself after getting off the lift at the end of the tower. He had watched in anger as Salazar ran off after he had thrown his knife into the smaller man's hand. At least his adventures through the mines and the room with the large statue of Salazar hadn't been as strenuous. **_

_**"Have you found those girls you were traveling with yet, strangah?" the Merchant outside the exit to the tower asked as Leon tuned up his mine thrower and Broken Butterfly. **_

_**"Not yet," Leon sighed. **_**Why am I even confiding in the Merchant? **_**He thought. Although he had to admit that his discussion of Umbrella with Audrey left him feeling cold in the stomach. Why didn't she believe his story, especially after he had mentioned he was in the middle of it all? He also needed to find Ashley so that he could complete his mission and get her home safely. Why didn't any of these guys just give up? They were clearly taking beatings from Leon, yet they still continued to fight. **_

_**Leon entered the tower to immediately only find Salazar and his left hand standing in front of an altar. "Salazar!" he snapped, "Where are they?" **_**I know he knows who I'm talking about. **

_**Salazar turned to face him, apparently having fixed his hand in the time he had been making his way through the tower. "Ahh," he sighed triumphantly, "You just missed her. The ritual is over. She left with my men to an island. And Miss Fagan has joined them as well." **_

_**"What?" Leon cried. **_**Damn it, **_**he thought. **_

_**Salazar walked up a small flight of stairs onto the altar, threw his hands up into the air, and began calling to the large plant behind him. "I think it's time I pay my due respects towards your impressive and…**_**stubborn **_**will!" he announced, "Mister Kennedy…welcome!" Both he and his left hand stood still as the plant behind them wrapped its tentacles around them and lifted them into the air. With his trademark laugh, Salazar disappeared inside one of the pods while the left hand entered another one and emerged as a one-eyed monster with a ferocious mouth. Leon backed up a little bit, but a gate suddenly came slamming down to the ground, forcing him to fight this new creature in front of him. **_

_**"Monsters," Leon muttered under his breath, "I guess after this, there'll be one less to worry about." He took out his mine thrower and began trying to aim it at the eye of the head in front of him. **_

_**"I want you to suffer just like Ashley!" Salazar snapped, even though he made no move to attack at the moment. The mine Leon had launched onto the eye exploded, causing the left hand to bend its head down to the ground in order to recover. This left Salazar vulnerable to attacks, so Leon used the Broken Butterfly to shoot at the short man himself, who showed that he had fused with the plant. Quite a few times, Leon found that he had to dodge the head whenever it decided to crash onto the ledge he was standing on, so he just decided to stand all the way to the right by a ladder for the rest of the battle. When he ran out of magnum ammo, he switched to his rifle and used that instead, and with patience, he managed to defeat Ramon Salazar, the eighth castellan of the Salazar mansion and one of Saddler's expendable pawns, once and for all. **_

_**The plant disintegrated, clearing the double doors up ahead and destroying the spider Plagas that crawled around the bottom level. During the battle, Leon had not had time to collect all the items lying around and in the barrels, so he broke open everything and collected ammo, grenades, spinels, and first aid sprays. Through the double doors he went, and then he climbed down the wall and took an elevator to another lower floor. **_**This is the end of the castle, **_**he thought to himself, **_**I've got to get to that island now. **

_**Luckily for him, someone was waiting for him at the dock: a certain, mysterious woman in red who he had bonded with in Raccoon City six years ago. "Need a ride, handsome?" Ada Wong asked, smiling at Leon. **_

_**Leon's heart pounded in his chest; unless he was mistaken, there was something about Ada that made his stomach turn…in the best possibly way. "Uh huh," he stammered, gaping at her, "Okay." Ada smiled again and gunned the boat's engine to life. **_

* * *

_My second boat ride back to the island wasn't nearly as harrowing as the first one; at least the rain had stopped. The temperatures dropped, but that didn't matter to me. Ashley, Audrey, and I were on our way to Saddler's island after Salazar's ritual, and I wondered what would happen when we got back. Audrey was sleeping, though how the hell she managed to get any sleep on this jostling boat was beyond me. Ashley was sitting up and rubbing her shoulders as she glared at me. _

_"Don't give me that look," I said to the President's daughter, "This will all be over before you know it." She scoffed and continued to gaze at the island ahead of us, which was growing larger the closer we got to it. I glanced down at Audrey again while she moved around in her sleep a little bit. Just like in the church, she was resting her head on my lap again, but this time, I wrapped one of my hands around her stomach and held her close so she wouldn't move around too much. Ashley stared at us in disgust, but I didn't give a damn. _

Leaving Umbrella? _I suddenly thought to myself, _How can anyone even think about leaving Umbrella? Once you're there, you're there. Wesker doesn't let anyone leave. Where does Audrey get the idea that Wesker will just let her go? _The idea just surprised me. Maybe, like Ada Wong, Audrey Fagan couldn't be trusted either, like Saddler said. Leon obviously had a huge influence on her, and I mean huge. He was always like that, though, even in South America. _

_I had to admit I was a little angry with her decision to leave Umbrella, regardless of the fact that it was unheard of. Why would anyone want to throw away a life that was always finding new ways to make the human race better? It was a pretty damn good lifestyle to me, so why shouldn't it be to anyone else? _

_"I don't know how I didn't see it before," Ashley mumbled to herself, breaking me out of my thoughts. _

_That was it. I glared at her and snapped, "All right, we get it! You know Audrey is a traitor! Now, get over it!" _

_"You…" she started, but instead she just rolled her eyes; she seemed to think I wasn't worth even yelling at, so we just dropped it. _

_Once again, Saddler was waiting for us when we arrived at the island. "Wake up," I said to Audrey, shaking her slightly. As I did that, she grabbed my wrist and squeezed it tightly, opening her eyes to reveal that they were bloodshot. _

_"My men will escort you to the prison," Saddler said to Ashley, and she glared at him silently as well as Audrey, a few of Saddler's soldiers, and I grabbed her and led her to said prison cell. We would figure out what to do with her after that. Out of habit, I glanced over my shoulder and spotted another boat arriving at this same island at the same time, and I felt doubt creep in my veins, which disappeared in the following seconds. There was nowhere else to go after this; someone would die here, and it sure as hell wasn't going to be any of us._


	14. Downhill

Here's another filler chapter leading up to what will probably be the most intense chapter of the story! Enjoy! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Audrey is mine.

* * *

"You're going to pay for this!" Ashley snapped at me as Krauser and I locked her in a storage cell with a few of Saddler's soldiers, "All of you!" With the virus circulating in my brain, I felt apathetic towards the President's daughter.

When we returned to Saddler, the cult leader faced us, beamed, and announced, "You two have done well. Take some time off for now. I'll handle our American friend." Which was how we found ourselves resting on a ledge that overlooked most of the island.

I took out my communicator and began pressing some buttons. "What are you doing?" Krauser asked.

"Contacting Wesker," I replied, "To tell him I want to leave Umbrella once and for all."

"No!" Krauser shouted, wrapping his strong arms around me and attempting to wrestle the communicator out of my hands, "You can't!"

"Let go of me!" I snapped, stepping on his foot. He yelped for a second before recovering and continuing to struggle with me. At that moment, another searing pain entered my head, and I screamed. Krauser let go and just watched while I suffered from the headaches the virus was giving me.

"Why does this keep happening?" I shrieked, clutching both sides of my head and willing the pounding sensation to go away.

"Sorry, kid," I heard Krauser apologize from far away, "But you'll just have to wait for the pain to pass. I went through the same thing for the first time."

"Wesker could have warned me about this," I snapped, swiping at him, which made him narrow his eyes as if he remembered something.

"What did I tell you before?" he asked, sitting down next to me while I took deep breaths, "As a soldier, it's just you and your instincts."

"I believe you said, 'Fend for yourself' before, with no emotions, like always." I didn't mean to be so bitchy, but this virus was really starting to hurt my head. And headaches plus me equaled a recommendation to run for cover!

As I expected, Krauser sighed and said, "Let me tell you something, kid: there's no time for emotions on the battlefield. So much is happening at once that it doesn't even sink in till it's all over! You, out of all people, should understand, after what you went through tonight."

Silence. Deep down, I knew he was right; I knew a few of my friends whose parents went off to war, and when they returned, they seemed emotionally closed off at first. "I'm sorry," I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut tight. I could feel his arm go around my waist again and his head rest on my shoulder. I returned the favor and leaned my head against his as I opened my eyes again.

"It's a tough world out there," he quipped, "And we've got to be ready for it."

"So then why is Leon still sweet and caring after everything he went through?" I asked as I felt the headaches ease up a little bit.

Krauser shook his head. "Nah, I don't think he's still the way he was in Raccoon City," he answered, "He's gotten colder, too, over the years that I trained with him." I closed my eyes again and took more deep breaths as a slight migraine returned.

"Just sleep now, Audrey," I heard him tell me softly, "You'll need the rest."

* * *

_**Ada was as mysterious as always, Leon realized; just as they had arrived at the island, she had disappeared once again, leaving the American agent to fend for himself. This island proved to be just as disturbing as both the village and the castle, and now that both Ashley and Audrey were missing, he was truly on his own again. Like the villagers and the monks, the soldiers on this island were infected with Las Plagas as well. **_

_**Leon ran around the base, killing all the soldiers that got in his way, including one with a Gatling gun. **_**These bastards never stop, do they? **_**He thought to himself. He continued up a small hill until he finally infiltrated the building situated to his left. Once he entered the door, everything went silent, not unlike his experiences in Raccoon City. The next door up ahead reminded him of the doors that led to kitchens in restaurants, except when a soldier popped out of the oven, completely on fire, any desire to eat disappeared. The agent continued onward through another door before entering a room with television screens. "Leon! Help!" a familiar voice cried, so Leon ran over to the screens and saw Ashley pounding on the door of her cell. **_

_**"Ashley!" he hissed under his breath. **_

_**"Leon!" the President's daughter cried again. One of the soldiers that had been in the cell with her appeared next to her, grabbed her arm, and threw her down to the ground. The other Ganado standing behind her suddenly looked straight into the screen, so there must have been a camera in the cell. **_

_**"¡Allí!" he snapped, and Ashley suddenly looked into the screen as well. **_

_**"Leon!" she cried, "If you can hear me, Audrey's a traitor! She…" **_

_**One of the soldiers slapped her across the cheek as the other one pressed some buttons. The television powered down, and Leon smirked. **_

_**"Amateurs," he mumbled, "Just hang in there, Ashley. I'm coming for you." He ran even faster now, becoming more and more desperate to complete his mission. **_

* * *

It seemed like hours before I finally woke up again, even though according to Krauser, it was only an hour. I stretched my arms over my head and gazed down towards the island below us.

"Come on," Krauser said to me, helping me up from the ground, "Let's go see what Saddler's up to."

"He said he was taking care of business. Do you mean steal the sample now?"

"We can try." The headaches were gone, but the virus still swam around in my head, so I found myself agreeing to this plan once again, no matter how much I tried to resist.

When we reached Saddler again, I noticed something was different about him. He seemed…_annoyed_ that we had come to find him.

"Krauser, Audrey," he quipped, "What brings you here right now?"

But before we could reply, Saddler continued, "Never mind, don't answer. Let me just say that I know what you've been up to."

We glanced at each other worriedly. "What we've been up to?" I echoed.

"What are you talking about?" Krauser added.

"I only promoted you to second in command to test you, Krauser," Saddler explained, "I know you're after the sample."

_Damn it, _I thought. How did he find out?

"I don't know what you could possibly have planned," the cult leader quipped, "But I know something is definitely up with both of you. Go outside and wait for me there. I'll deal with you two afterwards." He turned on his heel and marched away, leaving a cold feeling in the pits of our stomachs.

"What's wrong with you, two?" a familiar voice asked, and we both looked up and spotted Ada walking through the door of the room we were standing in.

Krauser shook his head and began playing with his knife, tossing it up and down in the air. "What's the news on our friend, Leon?" he asked, artfully changing the subject.

Ada sighed. "He's not making it easy," she huffed, folding her arms, "The sample?"

"Saddler's got it. Seems he's sniffed out our little game." I watched as Ada turned her back on us and stiffened up a little bit.

"Perfect…" she mumbled under her breath, and I wondered for an instant why she wasn't facing us.

"Just so we understand each other clearly," Krauser continued darkly, "I don't trust you. Nor does Wesker." He raised his knife into the air, and I gulped at how intimidating he looked in that moment.

"If you try to anything clever," he threatened, "I will kill you."

Ada wasn't even afraid, which amazed me. "Is that so?" she replied, "You know, I met Wesker _long _before you."

Krauser deftly switched his knife to his other hand. "We'll see soon enough if you did."

"Yeah, we'll see." Ada walked out of the room once again, and Krauser just smirked.

"She hasn't done anything untrustworthy," I spoke up, "Are you sure you're not just being paranoid?"

"Kid, I'm telling you," Krauser replied, "She's bad news. She's been acting mysterious since day one." I was about to reply when Krauser's communicator went off, and we both saw it was Wesker.

* * *

**Everything was going to hell now. From what I heard, Leon had recovered Ashley from a prison cell somewhere on the island, only to lose her to Saddler again a little while later, and the soldiers were becoming more and more frantic over this situation. Krauser didn't trust me, and Audrey seemed to be falling deeper into Wesker's spell. What was going to happen next? **

**As soon as I was outside again, Wesker called me on my intercom. "****Quite a jolly mess he has made, that Leon. But all for the better. Saddler's people have fallen into a panic. Their destruction is only a matter of time now!"** **he explained. **

**"Once he gets Ashley back," I countered, "His job will be finished. He'll no longer be a factor." **

**"No," Wesker jumped in, "I'm leaving Leon to Krauser and Audrey." **

**I stopped dead in my tracks. **_**No no no, **_**I thought, **_**He's not thinking of…surely he wouldn't. **_**"Hurry up and retrieve the sample," my boss continued, and he hung up, leaving me with a cold feeling in my gut. **

**"Maybe you've forgotten, **_**Wesker**_**," I said to myself, "I don't play by your rules." **_**I've got to save Leon, no matter what may happen. After everything we went through in Raccoon City, I can't leave him like this! **_**And with that, I leaped down from the ledge and began running to catch up with Krauser and Audrey, praying that luck would be on my side.**


	15. Close Encounters

"Bit of advice: try using knives next time. Works better for close encounters."-Leon Kennedy to Ada Wong, _Resident Evil 4, _Chapter 3-2

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Audrey is mine.

* * *

The blazing fire was the first thing that caught our attention as we hunted for Leon Kennedy. _This has to be his handy work, _I thought to myself. At the same time, though, I was nervous as hell; Wesker had given Krauser and me the orders to kill him, and despite the virus in my head, I felt a twinge of regret over carrying this task out. We even spotted the Merchant at one point. "Strangah," he said to me in a disappointed tone. I felt even more regret, but brushed it away quickly to avoid drawing attention to myself. That was when I suddenly realized something.

"Krauser," I gasped, "This was the safe room we found when you first met me. I never thought we would be back here."

"It's amazing how things turn out, isn't it?" he replied, leading me into the next room, where memories of two months ago rushed back at me. Except this time, there were no soldiers; I assumed Leon had taken care of all of them already. This hallway, and the weird room with the yellow haze, was all familiar again. Did this mean the game was almost over?

We entered the next room that was full of metal grates again, and up ahead, Leon collected some pesetas from the floor. "Shh," Krauser whispered to me, "Hold on tight." In a flash, he jumped up to the high ledge above our heads without breaking a sweat, like Leon often jumped down without taking damage. I felt a little lightheaded, but soon felt better. We watched Leon ride an elevator in the corner of the room, and we hid in the shadows.

"Wait here," Krauser whispered again, and I silently took out my gun and watched the older man begin to sneak up on Leon. Leon, who had been sprinting, suddenly slowed down to a walking pace and extracted his knife from the pouch over his shoulder, and he looked around for an instant. Like Leon and Ada's conversation after the maze of death, I decided this was a confrontation I should stay out of, but try to help out with as much as I could.

Leon about-faced, but Krauser disappeared before the other agent could notice him. From above, Krauser suddenly swung over a metal pole and dove for Leon while taking out his knife at the same time.

_Slam! _Krauser's knife pierced the floor, and Leon rolled backwards, wiping blood off a scratch mark on his cheek. I moved forward slowly, my handgun shaking in my hands. I wondered what would happen from here. A little bit of Leon's blood dripped onto the metal grating, which made my stomach hurl, just like the dark atmosphere did and the blood that was on Krauser's knife as well.

"Been a long time, _comrade_," Krauser greeted, straightening up again and revealing his knife. Leon, still not putting his knife away, backed up a little bit and gasped.

"_Krauser_?" he shrieked, clearly surprised to see his old partner alive. I still inched closer to the two men as I listened to them exchange words filled with hate.

Krauser began twirling his knife in his hands. "I died in a crash two years ago," he said, "Is that what they told you?"

Leon glanced from him and noticed me in the far back. "You're the one who kidnapped Ashley!" he realized, "You and Audrey!"

Krauser, too, glanced at me and then resumed circling Leon. "You catch on quick," he quipped, "As to be expected. After all, you and I both know where we come from." He dove for Leon again and tried to stab him, but Leon avoided his deadly knife attack again. I could see this was getting tense, so I didn't advance anymore.

Leon readied himself again and quickly switched which hand he held his knife in. "What do you want?" he growled. Krauser smirked and advanced forward to attack again. I crept forward again, but seeing how good both men were with knives, I didn't think I would stand a chance in a close battle like this one. I pointed my gun at Leon the whole time, ready to shoot if he ended up hurting Krauser.

"The sample Saddler developed, that's all." Leon dodged Krauser's knife again.

"Leave Ashley out of this!" he snapped, "Both of you!" I inched closer again until I was a good distance from Leon, and in those moments, I felt the virus taking over again as this confrontation was getting heated.

"Oh, we needed her to buy Saddler's trust in us," Krauser explained, "Like you, we're American." He swung his knife again and, after kicking a random barrel that wasn't there a few minutes ago, clashed with Leon's knife, who had thrown it up to block the oncoming blow. The two of them flew off the ledge rather gracefully, and as they landed on the bottom platform below, I ran over to stare at them. Neither one of them was hurt, amazingly, and I still pointed my gun at Leon. Leon stood up first and glared up at me with such anger that if looks could kill, I would have been dead already. Krauser regained himself as well and slowly approached him from behind.

"You got her involved just for _that_?" Leon snapped, and in a flash, he turned around and began dueling with Krauser while I looked on in nervous anticipation. It was hard to tell who would overpower who, since both of them were excellent fighters. Although Krauser was bigger and had much more strength than Leon, Leon was more agile. At one point, they locked fists and pushed, each one trying to knock down the other. The hatred radiating off both of them was terrifying, to tell you the truth. Having been on both of their sides, I could see why they hated each other. In a rush to avoid Krauser's next move, Leon slashed at his chest, tearing his black shirt and leaving a rather ugly red mark there.

At one point, Leon looked up at me just as Krauser was beginning to win the struggle. "Audrey!" he snapped, and both men turned to stare at me. I still kept my handgun raised in the air as I just stared apathetically at the situation down below. Krauser used this temporary distraction to kick Leon to the ground and send his knife flying across the platform.

"All for Umbrella's sake," Krauser mumbled under his breath, and at this, Leon's eyes widened.

"Umbrella?" he echoed.

"Almost let it slip. Enough talk. Die, comrade!" With his knife, Krauser leaped on top of Leon and tried plunging his knife into the latter's chest, but Leon put up a pretty good struggle.

Suddenly, someone bumped into me, and when I noticed the flash of red, I saw it was Ada. She knocked me to the side, ran over to the edge of the platform, and shot a bullet out of her gun before I could stop her. Krauser's knife flew across the room and landed on the other side, giving Leon the opportunity to kick his opponent away from him and right himself. He looked up at us again.

"Ada!" he cried in surprise.

"Well, if it isn't the bitch in the red dress," Krauser muttered darkly, "Why didn't you stop her, Audrey?"

"She was too fast," I explained sourly, stashing my handgun.

"Looks like we have the upper hand here," Ada said, smirking. Krauser glared at her again before performing another awesome back flip onto a ledge even higher than these ones. He glowered at Leon before looking down at the new scar he was sporting on his chest.

"You may be able to prolong your life," he quipped, "But it's not like you can escape your inevitable death, is it?" Before I had time to wonder if that line made any sense whatsoever, he disappeared, and I knew I would have to catch up with him soon.

Ada and I climbed down to Leon's level just as she asked, "You knew each other?"

"More or less," Leon replied, picking up Krauser's knife from the floor and stashing it in his pouch, "Maybe it's time you told me the reason why _you're _here?"

And being mysterious as always, Ada answered, "Maybe some other time." She leaped off another ledge to God knew where, which left just me and Leon again. He faced me again and wore an expression mixed with anger and surprise.

"So Ashley was telling the truth then," he said simply, "Why, Audrey?" I just stared at Leon and didn't answer. What could I say?

"I'm sorry it has to be this way," was all I said, and I moved across the platform to grab Leon's knife where it had been resting. Just as I was getting ready to leave, I heard Leon's communicator beep, and I wondered who hacked it this time.

"Enjoy the reunion with your old friend?" Saddler asked.

"As a matter of fact, I did," Leon replied sarcastically.

"Wonderful! I wouldn't want my special guests on the island feeling…_unattended_."

"Guess I'm supposed to thank you, right?"

"Ahh! I have an idea. While you're here, why don't I introduce you to 'It'? 'It' should keep you busy." _It? _I thought to myself with a trace of concern, _What the hell is It_?

"Can't remember the name? A senior moment, perhaps?"

"Enjoy the fun." Leon grumbled as he pocketed his communicator.

"Audrey," he said, approaching to me, "Before I go, I just need to know why. You know what Umbrella is like! Why are you working for them?"

I gazed at him, but refused to dignify that question with an answer, so I just took off after Krauser. "Audrey!" he shouted.

* * *

_**A little while later…**_

When I finally caught up with Krauser again, he pulled me along towards the horizontal elevator that I also recognized from when I first landed here. "Come on, let's move!" he ordered, pushing a few buttons and sending us across the abyss once again. Krauser suddenly clutched his chest in pain.

"Are you okay?" I asked, touching the scar.

"I've been impaled by a BOW before," he grunted, "A little scratch across my chest is nothing." But when he lifted his hand away, there was blood on the palm.

"I knew she was up to no good," he added quietly, and I realized he was talking about Ada, "She saved Leon! I'm sure she's going to betray Wesker!"

"Relax, soldier," I tried to say as gently as I could, "You're just getting worked up again. Ada's going to help us get the sample. You know that."

"I still think we should keep an eye on her, just in case." I rolled my eyes and got off the elevator while Krauser followed suit.

"How's Leon going to get over here?" I asked, worrying about Leon for a minute.

Krauser smirked knowingly. "He's not," he replied, "Look." We both watched Leon make his way across the path we had taken, and as he stopped to examine something, a large, hideous monster burst through the wall next to him. It was very snake-like, with a long tail and the face and torso of a human. I didn't even want to know what kinds of attacks this creature had. I gasped without even realizing I was doing so, and deep down, I wanted Leon to make it out of this alive. As I thought that, however, the virus, Las Plagas, and Krauser's hand on my shoulder made me think otherwise. "Let's move," Krauser whispered, and we took off again, leaving Leon to It. From where we walked, we watched as Leon ran through the three cages I had spotted when I first arrived in the game. How he managed to take on this creature by himself was beyond me, but fascinating at the same time. One by one, the cages dropped down into the abyss, and Leon disappeared from our view. I wanted to stay and watch, bur Krauser seemed to be in a hurry. He was still edgy over the whole Leon-Ada thing, and his edginess was starting to rub off on me a little bit.

"What's that in your hand?" Krauser asked, pointing to Leon's knife.

"Oh!" I gasped, handing it over, "It was Leon's. I found it after you two finished your fight."

"Thanks, kid." He stashed Leon's knife away in his back pocket. I glanced over my shoulder as I heard It screeching at the top of its lungs, and I briefly wondered if Leon was defeating it or not.

There was no time to think about it, though; we arrived back in the ruins after walking a little bit more, and Krauser suddenly stopped. "Here's fine," he decided, "Hold this for me?" He handed me his TMP and new knife that he had gotten from Leon and then proceeded to push the straps of his green military suspenders off of his shoulders so that he could take his ripped shirt off. As he pulled it over his head, I found a blush creeping up my cheeks; I always knew Krauser was muscular, but I had never seen him without a shirt on. I was sure I was blatantly checking him out; sure, Alexis and I pointed out some cute guys that we saw every now and then when we were out, but I never ogled any of them the way I did Krauser.

Pulling the straps of his pants back onto his shoulders, he caught me staring and smirked. "What?" he asked, laughing a little bit. I moved my gaze to the diagonal scar that ran across his chest instead.

"You've got a pretty nasty scar there," I gasped, willing the blush to go away.

Krauser looked down at himself and then asked, "You sure that was all you were looking at?"

"Oh, shut up," I replied, "God, you're so full of yourself." He smirked again, but then turned serious once more as he pulled on his red beret and reloaded his TMP.

"If Leon makes it past It, then he'll die here," he proclaimed, painting angry red lines on his face, one which resembled the scar over his eye. For the first time, I got a good look at the scar on his arm from when the BOW had impaled him.

"Just think of this as payback for South America," he announced, his facial expression changing yet again, "Shit, he's coming. Go! Hide!" I ran to another section of the ruins, but stayed somewhere that I would still be able to see and hear what was going on.

It looked like Leon had made it past It after all; he looked a little beaten up, but was in good spirits after that victory. Upon staring at him, I felt myself give in to Wesker's virus and my eyes become bloodshot again.

"So," Krauser started, walking on the ledge above him, "You two are all hooked up now, is that it?"

"Where's Ashley?" Leon demanded angrily.

"Do you really wanna know? She's beyond that gate. But you'll need three insignias to open it."

"What are you gonna do, Krauser?"

Krauser continued walking. "There's one in the north," he explained, "And the other in the east."

"And let me guess," Leon said sarcastically, "You've got the last one."

Pulling out his TMP and pointing it at the smaller agent, Krauser replied, "It pretty much means you're on a tight leash." From where I was hiding, I let out a gasp.

"Sounds like you thought this one out pretty well." Leon took out the end of a grappling hook and threw it at his former partner, giving him time to run. Krauser regained himself and began shooting bullets towards Leon's direction while the latter hid behind a large rock. Krauser quickly reloaded, then grabbed a hand grenade, and threw it across the ruins.

"I can see your every move!" he taunted as the grenade exploded. When the dust cleared, I saw that Leon was perfectly fine. He ran up a flight of stairs and into the building up ahead.

"Audrey! Over here!" Krauser yelled to me, so I emerged from hiding and joined him on the other side. We broke down the door to the same building and while I climbed up the ladder, Krauser jumped up to the ledge. On top, Leon was just breaking a barrel that contained TMP ammo when Krauser grabbed him from behind.

"Getting a bit soft, are we?" he taunted, and Leon grabbed his wrist and chucked him across the ledge, where he back flipped with no problems. I moved forward next to try and wrestle his knife out of his hand, but we ended up getting into a struggle. He kicked me to the ground, turned around, and began slashing at Krauser, with the latter making comments such as, "Good, Leon," or, "Now, we're talking." Out of his pocket, Krauser pulled out a flash grenade and threw it, and while Leon was temporarily blinded by the flash, we made a run for it, leaping off the ledge and back to the ground below.

"Hide here, and I'll go behind this rock," he commanded, "We'll take him by surprise." I hid, pulling out my TMP. The gate behind us burst open. Leon was coming.

As Leon rounded the corner, I leaped out and tackled him to the ground. As we fought yet again, Leon looked up at me and cried, "Audrey, snap out of it! You know you can do better than Umbrella!"

"I tried to kill you once before," I found myself telling him, remembering the maze incident, "And I can do it again." I tackled him again while Krauser ran over to us.

"Hold him down," I heard the muscular agent snap, "I'm going to finish this once and for all." But just as he raised his knife to end the fight, Leon kicked him once again and threw me down to the ground. The two of them began dodging each other's knife attacks, just like before, and Leon kicked Krauser again for a third time. For a minute, I thought about how weird it was that they were each using each other's knives. The former slashed the latter's head in one sweep, which I knew had to be painful.

"That's what I'm talking about," Krauser muttered, throwing another flash grenade and pulling me along with him as we ran to the next area. Tall pillars surrounded us, as did another tall building. We climbed up to the roof and waited there with our TMPs. When we spotted Leon running down below, Krauser threw some grenades down there; one of them managed to hit Leon pretty badly. Once he picked himself up again, Krauser and I both shot at him with our TMPs as Krauser shouted, "Run, Leon, run!" He laughed evilly, and I didn't think I had quite heard that sound out of him before. Leon avoided the rest of our attacks and soon climbed up to our level, probably to grab the grenade perched on the wall. I blocked the grenade out of sight and let Krauser have a go at Leon. They dodged each other once again, but Leon overpowered Krauser and slashed him with his own knife again. After a few slashes, the two of us disappeared under the cover of the next flash grenade. We hid behind a few rocks while Leon whipped out his Broken Butterfly and reloaded it. He grabbed the green herb right next to him and ran up the stairs into the next area. Krauser motioned for me to follow him, and we tiptoed quietly up the stairs, Krauser pulling out his knife as we did so.

Leon was kneeling down on the ground and picking up one of the insignias when he suddenly turned around and saw us surrounding him. "What do you two intend to do restoring Umbrella?" he asked.

Krauser and I circled him. "To bring order and balance to this insane world of ours," he explained simply.

Tossing the insignia up and down in the air, Leon said, "Psychos like you can't bring order or balance."

"Oh, yeah?" I challenged completely out of my control, "What would you know about that? You've never worked for Umbrella."

"And you've only known them for a short period of time."

"You don't seriously think a conservative mind can chart a new course for the world, do you?" Krauser added, "If you do, then I feel sorry for you."

"I think I'll live," Leon replied, pulling out his knife once again. The gate behind us suddenly closed, and Krauser jumped up to the ledge above and threw a grenade down to Leon.

"Get out of the way!" the soldier shouted at me, so I ducked just as Leon did. Leon shot Krauser with his Broken Butterfly, which still did damage, but not nearly as much as the knife. Was that what Leon was talking about with Ada before? _Try using knives next time. Works better for close encounters…_

"Don't just stand there!" Krauser snapped at Leon, "Come out and fight like a man!"

"I'm not falling for that one!" the other agent retorted.

"Just try to have fun." He leaped back down to our level, and after a few knife-slashing attacks, Krauser disappeared, leaving me to fight Leon.

"Audrey," he pleaded again, "You don't know what you've gotten yourself into! Just listen to me!"

"I won't hear it!" I screamed, knocking Leon against the wall. Even though deep down, I knew Leon was telling the truth, I couldn't stop myself. Eventually I left Leon to fend for himself as I ran to catch up with Krauser. He was waiting as the same building from before, by the closed gate.

"He's going to come back this way," Krauser whispered. I just nodded and readied myself for one last surprise attack when he said something else.

"Here's some advice from someone who's fought on many battlefields," he said to me, "A soldier never leaves his, or in your case, her partners behind. If you've got my back, I've got yours."

"I've got your back," I assured him, reloading my TMP.

It seemed like forever before Leon finally showed up, and after yet another struggle, we disappeared into the ruins. We watched from another tower while Leon fought robot bombs, some which exploded in his face. Once he made his way to another opening, Krauser looked down at him from where we stood. "What is it that you fight for, comrade?" he asked.

"My past, I suppose," Leon replied in a neutral tone of voice.

"Heh. Umbrella."

* * *

This fight was getting intense now. Leon climbed his way through the tower while Krauser and I scaled our way up to another ledge to wait for him. I pulled a switch, which closed all the gates in the ruins, successfully trapping Leon with the two of us. "Listen, kid," Krauser began, "You've done well so far, but I don't want you getting hurt here. Just wait here, and I'll go finish off Leon."

"What happened to 'a soldier never leaves his partners behind'?" I asked, smirking.

"This is different." He lowered his voice to a stage whisper. "I'm about to use _it_." At the sound of the word _it_, I understood.

"All right, fine," I declared, "But if you get your ass kicked down there, I'll be there faster than Ada Wong in high heels."

"Very funny. Wish me luck." He took his red beret off, cast it aside, and then hugged me again. He leaped down so that he was on a platform above Leon, who was picking up the second insignia. The two men scowled at each other, and once again, I sensed the bitter rivalry between them.

"Two down, one more to go, Krauser!" Leon snapped.

Krauser scoffed. "We'll see about that," he countered, tossing his TMP aside as well. And, in a sudden fury that I would never forget, I saw _it _for the first time. Though it took a lot of effort, Krauser raised his left arm into the air and slowly transformed it into a rather menacing-looking blade. I cringed at the blood vessels that bulged out of his arm, as well as how the blade made it pulse. His whole left side looked bruised and burned. Even Leon looked shocked at what was happening in front of him, and he clearly didn't know what to make of this, either.

"Witness the power!" Krauser declared, admiring the powers Las Plagas had given him.

"You've lost it completely, Krauser!" Leon gasped. Smirking, Krauser raised his blade arm again and turned to his old comrade.

"Prepare for your death, Leon," he growled, and he leaped down to try to knock Leon off the tower's edge, but the fight began with the two of them running through the small fighting area. The path to a ladder below closed, and in the distance, I made out the sound of beeping. At that instant, though, I didn't care; my heart was beating worriedly as the fight below multiplied in intensity. Krauser's arm proved to be deadly, as it increased his speed and lethal combat. Often, he unfurled the blade so that it acted as a shield in front of him, and the air pushing it from the back helped to project him forward. Leon still used his knife to deliver damage, even though Krauser had come close to killing him plenty of time.

"Audrey!" Leon shouted up at me, "Get yourself out of here while you can!" Krauser knocked him off of the ledge and nearly pushed him to his death, but the smaller man slashed at his leg with the knife and climbed back up.

The fight continued until Krauser finally staggered. He groaned, clutched his chest, and then groaned again when his chest _exploded_. Blood poured out from him, and I just watched in shock as he collapsed to the ground and didn't move. It also didn't look like he was breathing either. "No!" I shouted, climbing down from the tower immediately. I ran over to my fallen partner and tried to shake him so that he would wake up. He didn't move.

"LEON!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, "I'm going to _kill _you!" I ran over to him just as he was picking up the last insignia. I tackled him to the ground and pulled out my handgun.

"That's it!" he snapped, wrestling with me, "You need to snap out of this! I know you're a good person on the inside! Get yourself out of this!"

"YOU KILLED KRAUSER!" I bellowed, hysterical, "You killed my partner!"

"He was already gone before you met him," Leon explained softly.

"I hate you!"

"Listen to me!" Leon shouted, grabbing my shoulders, "If we don't get out of here soon, these ruins are going to explode and kill both of us!" I stopped for a minute.

"Explode?" I echoed.

"That's right. We've got to get out of here before that happens! Please, just listen!"

I still didn't move. "How long before it explodes?" I asked darkly.

"Any minute," Leon answered, sending fear through my veins. Instantly, the headaches the virus had given me receded enough for me to reclaim my own mind once again. I looked up at Leon, no longer feeling bloodshot, and I hugged him tightly.

"Leon, I'm so sorry for everything!" I sobbed, "I didn't know Umbrella was evil when I joined up with them!"

"Come on, we have to go now!" he reminded me, grabbing me and pulling me along with him. Before we left, I glanced back at Krauser, and I felt my face crumple with sadness. Jack Krauser, the first person I had met here, was dead, and there was nothing I could do about it. _You've got no choice now, Audrey, _I thought, _You have to go with Leon. _And, leaving Krauser's body behind, we exited the ruins as a loud explosion resonated behind us.


	16. Shadow of the Former Self

Oh, man! This story is getting very close to the end now! But I'm glad because this means this will be one of the first stories I've ever actually finished! lol. :) Anyway, here's Chapter 16, the aftermath of the events of Chapter 15. Don't forget to read and review!

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Audrey is mine.

_

* * *

Boom! _The ruins exploded behind us just as we made our way through the gate. I crouched down to the ground, with Leon on top of me, as we waited for the explosion to die down. Leon wasn't speaking to me, so I figured he was still angry over my betrayal, even though he had every right to be. I was also still steamed at him for killing Krauser, so at least the feelings were mutual. We were silently hiking up the small hill ahead of us just as Leon received a call from Saddler.

"So," the cult leader started, "It seems you killed Krauser, too. How should I return my appreciation?"

Leon balked. "What?" he gasped, "What are you talking about? I thought he was with you!" He glared at me as he said this.

"What are you talking about? Did you really think I'd trust an American? To tell you the truth, I was contemplating how to get rid of him, and Audrey as well. But thanks to you, that's no longer necessary."

"You bastard!" I snapped into the communicator, but Leon moved it away from me.

"You were just using him right from the start!" he realized.

Saddler chuckled. "Oh, I must hand it to you... You've demonstrated a bit of promise by killing Krauser. When your assimilation with Las Plagas is complete, I'll have you serve as my guard," he said.

"Unfortunately, I'm going to have to decline your generous offer. I have previous engagements."

"Hmm. Enjoy your smart-mouthing…while you can." Leon grumbled as he pocketed his communicator and ushered me along. We still didn't speak to each other, and I wondered if I would ever get a chance to tell him how truly sorry I was for everything. I screwed up big time, and now I was paying for it, slowly but surely.

Up ahead, swarms of Ganados were armed and ready to attack us, and we both realized there was no way we would be able to take all of them out. Instead, we ended up hiding behind a garbage dump. "Damn!" Leon cursed under his breath.

The ground rumbled around us, and I held on to my jacket tightly as a strong breeze accompanied it. In the distance, I could faintly make out the sound of a helicopter, so we both peeked over the garbage dump and saw a large helicopter with two guns attached to it arrive. We both heard Leon's earpiece beep, and I realized it had to be some kind of backup. The _real _backup, not the BS lie I had made up hours ago. "Hey!" Leon greeted, "It's about time."

"Sorry, bad traffic," the pilot replied, "I'll cover you."

"Stay down," Leon whispered to me, so as we ducked for cover, we watched this backup work his magic on the Ganado soldiers. With his turret gun, he knocked down a few towers, exploded some flammable barrels, and proceeded to shoot down the rest of the army. The two of us watched in awe. "Now, why couldn't we have this before?" I whispered under my breath, but I didn't think Leon heard me. Instead, he was staring at the chopper in awe.

"Now that's what I call backup!" he quipped cheerfully.

"The name's Mike," the pilot greeted, "You're looking for firepower? You've come to the right place."

"Let's go!" Leon shouted, so we began making our way through the military base while we killed any soldiers that got in our way. We had to put our animosity aside for now; we could talk about everything later. Right now, we had to get out of here. True to his word, Mike covered us the whole time, even blowing up entire towers just to help us out. When we were a little ways into the base, he suddenly warned, "Take cover!" We hid in a small space between two structurally sound buildings, with Leon in front of me.

After a few minutes of waiting breathlessly, the tower up ahead exploded. "Oh, yeah!" Mike cheered, "Got those scumbags!" Leon and I continued to move onward. There was so much action going on in this base, what with the different guns and explosions, that I began to think that this hardly felt like a _Resident Evil _game anymore. Nevertheless, we continued our journey to get out of this base.

Suddenly, another explosion echoed above our heads, I found myself separated from Leon. "Leon!" I cried through the smoke and flames.

"Go around!" he shouted to me, "I'll meet you on the other side!"

"Okay!" I began to run, trying to find any alternative path around the rubble that was blocking me. Soldiers poured in from all directions, and I ended up getting a little too trigger happy with my TMP. I ran and shot, elbowing my way through all the soldiers. I thought I was doing pretty well for being on my own; this was the first time I had been alone since I started my journey through the village, and I was proud of the way I was handling myself. Almost like I had matured over the course of my adventure.

Suddenly, I ran out of TMP ammo, and to make matters worse, I found myself surrounded. _Great, _I thought to myself. I took cover in a tent in the corner and watched nervously as the Ganados approached me. I gulped and kept my hand on my handgun, the only weapon I had left.

"YAAAHHH!" a savage voice cried in a warlike screech, and then, I heard the screams of the Ganados. I couldn't really see what was going on, but I assumed it was Leon, who maybe had found a way to get around to me after all. I felt joy bubble up in me that he was all right, even though the bloodbath in front of me made me refrain from screaming. When the massacre was over, I cautiously moved to go outside.

"Leon! You're okay! Thank God!" I cried. But nobody answered.

"Leon?" I repeated, "Leon, are you there?" There was still no response, and I feared the worst, even though he was angry with me. I didn't want him to die before he could save Ashley.

Suddenly, a different, much deeper voice, stopped me in my tracks. "It's not Leon," it snapped, and when the person it belonged to moved to stand in front of me, I nearly died with shock.

"Krauser!" I gasped.

* * *

**In the distance, I saw a helicopter up ahead, shooting bullets and rockets all around the military base. In my pocket, I could hear Wesker buzzing in again. **

**"Report," he demanded, "Time is almost up." **

**"Krauser's dead," I replied tersely. **

**Wesker rested his chin in his hand. "****Really… Hmmm... Leon doesn't die easily. That's fine, we can use him to clean up Saddler for us. We'll let them fight it out. Neither one of them will manage to come out unharmed," he declared, which made my stomach turn again. **

**"Easier said than done," I mumbled under my breath. **

**"Either way, it's your job to clean up what's left of them when the fight is over. Don't forget who is running the show. Whatever happens, we can't let either of them live to see tomorrow. Our goal is to retrieve the sample. Take out anything that might interfere with our plans." He powered down his end of the call, and I began to move forward through the military base. Along the way, I couldn't help but wonder if Wesker knew I had let Leon live instead of killing him back in the castle. He wasn't stupid; he definitely knew something was up. I couldn't worry about it now, though, so I just continued to sprint in a more desperate attempt to find the sample. Everyone was counting on me now, and I wouldn't let them down. **

**Swarms of Ganados chased me, even though most of the structures were gone and passageways were blocked. **

* * *

_Krauser's…alive? _I thought, shocked, as Jack Krauser stood in front of me with a blank look in his eyes. I even pinched myself to check if I was hallucinating, but it dawned on me that I wasn't, and Krauser was truly alive…as a shadow of his former self. He looked awful; his whole left side was covered in debilitating burns and dried blood, and his blade arm pulsed even more vigorously. The longer he continued to stare at me, the more I was unnerved. He was alive. And he looked pissed off beyond belief. His previously neutral expression soon became filled with anger, and he gritted his teeth as if he were trying to keep himself in control. Unconsciously, I took a few steps backwards as he approached me slowly, raising his blade arm in front of him. I took out my handgun and pointed it at him, and thought about how I should have been overjoyed that he was alive, at least. Instead, I was nervous; when Krauser was pissed off, shit was about to happen.

I ducked into the tent once more, and Krauser followed me, growling and knocking me down to the ground. I shot a few bullets at him from my handgun, but he was too close to aim properly. With his right hand, he grabbed my wrist and pushed me against the wall, holding the blade just underneath my throat. I looked down at the ground, but then he moved the tip of his blade up to my cheek and forced me to look at him. I took in the half-burned and slightly psychotic expression and gulped, wondering if he would go ahead and kill me after everything we had been through.

"You promised you would have my back," he snapped angrily. I looked away again, swallowing my slight guilt, but he forced me to stare at him again.

"After everything we've been through," he continued, his voice breaking, "And after everything I've done for you, you left me to die in those ruins!"

I gulped for a third time. "I-I'm sorry," I whispered, "I thought you were dead! If I had known you were alive…"

_Boom! _Another loud explosion rocked the ground around us, and Krauser threw me down to the ground and laid on top of me, though I noticed he still held his blade up to my throat. He was still pissed, and this made me nervous. When the explosions were finished, he sat up, flexing his mutated arm while I got myself situated. He crawled towards me on his knees until he was directly in front of me. Behind me was his blade arm, which he unfurled into a shield and used to draw me in. _No! What's happening? Is this it? _I thought to myself, feeling a sweat break out on my forehead. Therefore, I was surprised when instead of slashing my throat, he leaned in and kissed me right on the lips.

_Whoa! _I was taken aback at first; he tasted like smoke and iron, and his skin felt rough after everything he had been through, but as weirded out as I was, I didn't find this to be unpleasant. I slowly returned the kiss, releasing all the pent up feelings I harbored for this man for a while and wrapping my arms around his back, which pulsed just like his arm. Even though the ground shook and more explosions went off above our heads, we ignored all that. It was just me and Jack, but for how much longer?

When I broke away for air for a minute, I asked, "After all this time, Jack?"

Krauser nodded. "Yes," he replied simply, "And you know what makes this really disappointing?" I waited with bated breath for his answer as I felt him move his regular hand through my hair.

"This all could have been different. First Leon, then Ada, and now you?"

I sighed wistfully. "I'm sorry, Jack," I whispered, pressing my lips to his charred forehead and tasting the smoky taste once again. It was then that I realized: I liked Krauser a lot, but I just couldn't continue to side with him or Wesker. It was painful to choose, but I had made my decision. And he realized it now.

"Yeah," he replied, "Me too, Audrey." He pressed his lips to mine again, but after a few minutes, something was wrong; his hold on me was getting a little too strong.

"J-Jack!" I gasped, but he didn't hear me. He continued to squeeze me, using his blade arm to draw me in closer and closer to the point where it was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Hey, buddy!" I choked, tapping his shoulder, "Oxygen is my friend right now!" I used my hands to try to push him off of me, but he was too strong. Now, I was starting to panic. I felt lightheaded and felt my chest being constricted.

"Krauser!" I cried, "Stop it! I can't breathe!" I continued to struggle to get out his grasp. _Oh, God, _I thought, _Must. Get. Oxygen. Now! _However, Krauser remained where he was, gripping me until everything finally faded to black around me.

* * *

_I looked down at Audrey as she finally fainted from the lack of oxygen. It killed me that I had to do this to her, but she shouldn't have left me to die in the ruins. She could have checked to see if I was really dead, but she didn't. Why did I kiss her when I wanted to kill her? Well, I wasn't really sure; it was all impulsive. Maybe I sort of liked the kid for a while and wouldn't admit it to myself, but any chance at going further than a partnership was instantly killed tonight. Sadly, I couldn't trust anyone anymore, not even Audrey Fagan. _

_For a minute, I wondered what Leon would do if he saw me again after supposedly "killing" me. Well, he wouldn't live for long after that, and neither would Ada. I would find them and kill them both. But which one would be easier to track? _Leon, _I thought. Perhaps I could use Audrey as bait to lure him to his death, so I grabbed her unconscious body, taking care to keep her protected by the shield, and made my way through the base, avoiding all attacks by projecting myself forward. I leaped across fences and over high walls, where Leon was down below, watching as a helicopter that I assumed was his backup took out all the Ganados in the vicinity. _Damn it, _I thought angrily. Now was not the time to attack him, especially since Saddler was approaching from a distance. Oh, yeah. That bastard would be the next to go after Leon and Ada! He practically sent me to my death! _

_"Thanks!" Leon called into his earpiece, "When we get out of here, drinks are on me!" _

_"Yeah!" a loud voice replied, "Hey, I know a good bar!" Out of nowhere, one of the Ganados shot a rocket towards the helicopter, causing to explode and crash to the ground below. I smirked; that's what Leon got for trying to be so fucking noble. _

_"MIIIIIIKKKKEEE!" Leon shouted, running over to the edge of the cliff. He glanced over his shoulder and watched Saddler and his minion walk away. _

_"I'll make sure you're the next to go, Saddler!" my old comrade snapped. Yeah, that would be the day. Before I could get his attention, he was already moving, so I hopped over rooftops until I made it into the same area where I had first met Audrey. God, was it really that long ago, two months? It felt like years! I waited in silence for either Leon or Ada, ready to unleash my full fury on them for everything. I glanced down at Audrey again, who was still unconscious. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with her when everyone was dead, but I could wait and decide that later. Maybe she would die with everyone else. Or maybe I would let her live and help me kill that damn cult leader. I didn't know. _

* * *

**By the time I caught up with Leon again after running through the military base, I noticed he looked awful. He was coughing and staggering while he clutched his chest. "Leon?" I asked, my voice full of concern, "Are you okay?" **

**He didn't answer, but after coughing for a little while longer, he began to breathe erratically as he slowly turned to face me. His eyes were bloodshot. **_**Las Plagas! **_**He growled, raced forward, and wrapped his hands around my neck, choking me. **

**"Leon!" I cried, trying to pry his hands off of me, but he wouldn't listen; the parasite had taken over for a second. He left me no choice but to reach for my secret, small blade and stab him in the leg. He cried out in pain, and while he was distracted, I used my knee to knock him to the ground. I waited while he recovered himself and took a few more pills to suppress the parasite growth. **

**"Sorry, Ada," he choked, standing up again. **

**"We have to get that parasite out of your body," I reminded him. **

**"Yeah," Leon agreed, "But before that, I have to save Ashley and find Audrey." **

**"Fine. Let's split up." And before Leon could get another word in, I was already out the door and running through the jail cell up ahead. The one Audrey had claimed she had woken up in two months ago. A few Ganado soldiers leaped out to attack me, but by now, they were easy to kill, so I had no problems getting through here. On the other side was a small square area, so I decided to see what was this way. **

**Suddenly, there was a change in the air; something was wrong, though I didn't know what at the time. I pulled out my handgun and crept forward, just in case there were any surprises I should be aware of. I glanced up at the rooftops, where a metal pole suddenly sailed towards me. In a flash, I ran, tumbling as I avoided being impaled. I continued to look up, where a familiar face stood, watching me with increasing anger. It was Krauser! **

**Surviving the ruins obviously showed on the various burns on one side of his body, and he raised his blade arm in front of himself, challenging me. Next to him was Audrey, who he must have knocked out at some point. "Oh, Krauser," I started, "I'm sorry. I jumped the gun when I reported you dead to Wesker." Taking out my grappling gun, I lodged it into the wall, allowing me to sail up onto the roof Krauser and Audrey were standing on, and as I flew over Krauser's head, he glared at me. I landed on the other side and waited while he turned to face me. **

**"Think of all the paperwork I'd have to fill out if you were to show up alive," I told him. He growled, grabbed Audrey, and held her close to him, figuring I wouldn't attack if I would hit her, too. No matter, though. I would simply find another way to deliver damage to Krauser. **

**Unfurling his blade arm, he sprinted towards me, and I grabbed my knife so that I would be ready. I slashed at his legs, well out of Audrey's way, and he staggered backwards. For a man with a mutated arm, he was surprisingly easy to defeat. After I finished slashing at him, he threw a flash grenade in my direction, grabbed Audrey again, and jumped over to the next roof. From over there, he taunted me. "Come on!" he cried, gesturing to the unconscious girl next to him. That was how the fight went for the next few minutes, while we both heard Leon fighting an army of soldiers down below. **

**Krauser put up a pretty good fight, but when he was finally down, he looked at me as he collapsed. He let go of Audrey, who was just starting to come around, and I approached him as blood poured from his mouth and his arm began to shrink back down to normal size. **

**"That's a large thing you have there," I commented, "But I don't like it when men play rough." He looked up at me and grabbed the hem of my dress. **

**"T-tell her," he choked, "Tell her I…I…" And with that, he passed onto another life for good this time. I just stared down at him in pity. **

**"Ada?" I turned around to see Audrey standing up and taking deep breaths due to all the oxygen she had been deprived of this whole time. **

**"There you are," I said to her, "Leon's looking for you." **

**"What happened to Krauser?" she asked quietly, taking in his corpse and the blood on my hands. **

**"I had to kill him," I explained to her, taking her hand, "He won't hurt any of us again." Tears ran down Audrey's face, but she closed her eyes and nodded all the same, her opinion of Krauser seemingly changed after all this. **

**"I normally would not do this for someone like Krauser," I continued, "But I think deep down, he really cared for you. Just like I care for Leon." Audrey's eyes snapped open, and she stared at me in wonder. **

**"You…have feelings for Leon?" she asked. I nodded. **

**"He helped me out when we were in Raccoon City. We developed a bond, just like you and Krauser. So I know how you feel." There was a look of anguish on her face, and I could tell she was battling with herself. **

**"Oh, Ada!" she cried, referring to Krauser, "I liked him, too. But he tried to kill me." **

**"Don't worry," I assured her, "We'll put an end to all of this once and for all. Let's go find Leon." **

**"Okay." She grabbed my hand as I shot the grapple gun over to the other roof. She glanced back at Krauser for a second before we traveled to the other side, where the Merchant met us again. **

**"It's good to see you back on the good side, strangah," he said proudly to Audrey while I sold a few jewels and upgraded my weapons. In the corner was a vent up ahead, so shooting my grappling gun again, I took Audrey's hand as we entered the building.**


	17. End of the Line

Only a few more chapters to go! :) By the way, let me know if you would want to read a sequel to this story. I've thought about it, but it depends on if you guys like this one. Let me know! And don't forget to read and review! :D

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Audrey is mine.

* * *

The end was near. I could feel it. Krauser was dead, the Ganados were backing off, and Leon was getting closer to finding Ashley. _Oh, God, Krauser, _I thought, swallowing the lump in my throat. I now realized just how crazy he really was, especially after he had tried to kill me before, and I was glad I was on the side of the good guys once more. Ada was now leading me through a vent in the wall, and we landed inside the building, where a large container stood in the middle of the room. Ashley was inside it, and I felt more guilt. I definitely needed to apologize to her for everything.

Leon entered the room from the other side, where Saddler appeared out of nowhere. "You'll soon harbor an awesome power," the cult leader announced, raising his hands, "Yet it seems you would rather choose death."

"I'm taking Ashley back whether you like it or not!" Leon snapped. Saddler laughed.

"Ahh, the audacity of youth," he commented. _Yeah, which you clearly don't have, _I thought bitterly, watching as he rammed himself into Leon, sending the younger man flying into the cell that was holding Ashley.

"I've just about had it with your…unwillingness to obey me," Saddler snarled, getting ready to finish Leon off once and for all. From my right, Ada whipped out her TMP and began shooting at Saddler, so I took my handgun and did the same. Saddler stepped back a little bit, but other than that, it didn't seem like our bullets really did anything. With this distraction, Ada glanced down at Leon.

"Leon, now!" she said to him, and as he was releasing Ashley, she turned to me next. "Go with them," she commanded, "I think you would be better off on their mission than mine."

I stared at her for a minute. "Why?" I asked, "What's yours?"

"Need to know basis," she answered simply, "Just go! I'll handle Saddler!" I quickly nodded and then climbed down to Leon and Ashley's level. From behind us, Saddler groaned and began expelling all of our bullets, not having been affected by any of them. Ada picked up on this quickly.

"Move!" she cried.

"Let's go!" Leon shouted to the President's daughter, who was just starting to come around. He took one of her arms and I took the other, and we guided her towards a passageway in the distance while Saddler slowly walked after us. From up top, Ada began shooting some explosive barrels, successfully blocking Saddler from reaching us.

By the time we arrived outside to another Merchant, Ashley was finally back to her normal self. "Whose side are you on now?" she asked scathingly, narrowing her eyes at me.

"Relax, Ashley," I replied just as snippily, "I'm on your side."

"So that makes you a triple agent now?"

"I guess so." Leon finished with the Merchant before we ran into another few hallways, killing the last few Ganado soldiers. We made a couple of turns before entering a larger laboratory, where a lot of fancy equipment sat in the middle of the room.

"This must be what Luis was talking about in his letters about removing Las Plagas," Leon said to us, running over to the machine.

"This hunk of junk?" Ashley asked, scrunching her nose, "I don't know about this, Leon."

"Yeah," I concurred, "Are you sure this is safe?"

"There's only way to find out," Leon answered, settling himself into the chair just underneath a laser beam, "You two operate."

Ashley and I powered up the machine, and as it warmed up, Ashley asked, "Are you sure you wanna do this?"

"Yeah," the agent replied.

"All right. Here goes nothing." She pushed a large button in the middle, and a bright light emitted from the laser. We both watched in silence while the light scanned Leon's chest, and when we checked the machine, we saw that it was destroying Las Plagas, which I had learned were photosensitive. A bar ran across the small screen as if a file was being downloaded, and in seconds, it reached one hundred percent. Leon groaned and then collapsed in the chair. Ashley and I immediately ran over to him.

"How are you feeling?" we asked.

Leon stretched himself out. "Like a million bucks," he replied.

"All right," Ashley said, "Guess I'm up." She sat down in the chair while Leon and I operated the machine. Like with Leon, her Plagas soon disappeared as well, and it was my turn.

My God, the process was painful! I watched as the laser swept across my chest, eliminating one of the nightmares inside of me. A slithering feeling crept across my ribcage, and I could have sworn I heard a slight explosion inside of myself as the Plagas shriveled up. While I got myself together, Ashley hugged Leon and sobbed a little bit, clearly glad that this ordeal was over. Or nearly over.

"I don't know about you two," Leon said, "But I think it's time we go home." Ashley nodded, but as they were making their way over to the exit, I stopped them.

"Guys, wait!" I called out. They both stopped and turned to stare at me.

_This is going to be tough, _I thought, but I took a deep breath and forced myself to continue speaking. "I just wanted to…formally apologize for everything I put you two through tonight. You see, when I was working with…well, with Umbrella, I was ignorant to their true intentions. It's no excuse, I know, but I was blind to everything. I should have asked; I should have thought about some of my actions before, but I guess…I guess I just placed my trust into the wrong people. I hope you two will forgive me for everything, and if you don't, I'll understand that, too." I realized I was truly sincere with these words, and how right I was; I was wrong to trust Krauser and Wesker, and I was also wrong to mistrust Randy. Maybe Mom and Alexis were right about him. After all, he had never done anything terrible to me, and he always treated Mom with respect and as his equal. My experience in _Resident Evil 4 _showed me that I never had trust issues in the first place; I just chose to trust the wrong people. Whenever I somehow got home, the first thing I would do was apologize to Randy, not just to make Mom and Alexis happy, but for myself as well.

Ashley and Leon gazed at me, decided whether or not they should forgive me. Ashley looked like she wasn't sure what she should do. "I could have died tonight! Or become possessed by Saddler because of you!" she yelled at me, "And you expect me to forgive you?"

"I didn't say you had to forgive me," I reminded her, "But to just listen to the truth. If you don't forgive me, I understand."

"Hmmph." Ashley turned on her heel and walked out of the room, just like I'd expected her to. Leon stared from me to her and then approached me. He rested his hand on my shoulder.

"Look, Audrey," he started, "This whole time, you've come across as a very confused young woman who kept switching sides because you weren't sure which one was better." I looked away, but he continued.

"But, I think you've matured as we've gone through the night. You've finally gotten yourself together, and you really seem sorry about everything. So let's call a truce."

It wasn't exactly an acceptance of my apology, but I didn't care; a truce would do in a heartbeat. "A truce," I agreed, smiling, "Yeah. Let's call a truce." We shook hands.

"Come on. Let's get out of here." I nodded enthusiastically, and we went to meet Ashley outside.

"Thank God that's over!" she commented with relief. The two of us nodded, and after one last deal with the Merchant (or at least, I thought it was the last), we climbed down the stairs before reaching an elevator in front of us. Leon suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" I asked worriedly.

"Something's not right," he replied, "Girls, you stay here." Ashley glowered at me again, but I found I was far too used to it to care. We watched silently as Leon climbed into the elevator and went up to the platforms above our heads.

* * *

_**Leon rode the elevator all the way up to a few metal platforms at the top, and the first thing he noticed was that someone was tied up. "Ada!" he cried, running over to the unconscious woman, but something stopped him. **_**Saddler! **_**He thought angrily, although he was thankful at least Audrey and Ashley were safe down below. Well, if they didn't rip each other's hair out in the next few minutes. **_

_**Saddler raised his hand into the air, as he previously had in order to control Las Plagas inside Leon, and was baffled when nothing happened. Leon scoffed and raised his knife. "Better try a new trick, 'cause that one's getting old," he taunted, throwing his knife into the air and cutting Ada loose from her bindings. She landed on some soft material below and coughed for air. **_

_**"Are you okay?" Leon asked. **_

_**"I've been better," Ada replied, causing Saddler to laugh to himself. Both of them turned to face him. **_

_**"What's so funny?" Leon demanded. **_

_**"Oh, I think you know," Saddler replied, "The American prevailing is a cliché that only happens in your Hollywood movies! Oh, Mr. Kennedy, you entertain me! And to show you my appreciation, I will help awaken you from your world of clichés." With that, he opened his mouth as wide as it would go, revealing an orange eye in the middle. **_

_**"Ada, stand back!" Leon cried, and Ada immediately stood up and ran out of the way as Saddler, not surprisingly, changed into a giant monster like Mendez and Salazar had. **_**Well, this isn't a big cliché, **_**Leon thought sarcastically once Saddler finished mutating. The elevator locked behind him, leaving him no choice but to fight the cult leader. **_

_**To make the battle feel even more clichéd, Saddler used repetitive attack patterns, and the way Leon defeated him was the same every time; knock him down to the ground, climb on top of him, and stab his eye with his knife. Despite all this, Saddler put up a pretty good fight, and Leon often crossed from one side to the other to avoid some of the cult leader's more aggressive attacks. **_

_**Meanwhile, from where Ada stood, she began trying to find something to help Leon get rid of Saddler once and for all. She was annoyed; the sample had been right there in front of her after she defeated Saddler in the capsule room, and it was back in his grasp once more! She looked up ahead and noticed that timers for bombs were going off, so she took off in order to beat the time limit. Along the way, she took out some more soldiers while the fight between Leon and Saddler heated up even more. Ada wasn't sure when the bombs would go off, but she knew she had to hurry. She leaped across platforms and used her grappling gun to get to hard-to-reach areas, all while killing more soldiers, including ones with rocket launchers. She used her grappling gun again for another really long journey, and on the other side, she spotted a special rocket launcher. She picked it up for an instant and studied it while Leon continued to attack Saddler. When it looked like the cult leader was on his last leg, she tossed it down to Leon. "Use this!" she cried. **_

_**Leon ran over to the rocket launcher, picked it up, and aimed it at Saddler. As soon as it made contact with the mutated cult leader, it created an explosion that left Saddler burned and crumpled on the ground. On the side was the master sample Luis had been talking about, and Leon decided to go over and investigate it. Just as he was picking it up, however, he suddenly caught sight of a gun being pointed at the side of his head. **_

_**"Sorry, Leon," Ada apologized, "Hand it over!" **_

_**Slowly standing up and raising his hands into the air, Leon questioned, "Ada? You do know what this is." Ada took the sample out of his hands and just smiled. From behind them, a helicopter echoed into the early morning, and Ada turned and ran down the platform, belly-flopping over the edge. Leon ran over to see if she was okay when the helicopter rose in front of him, with Ada safely inside. **_

_**Waving the sample in the air, she shouted, "Don't worry! I'll take good care of it!" **_

_**"Ada!" Leon yelled over the roar of the helicopter blades. **_

_**"Gotta go. If I were you, I'd get off this island, too." She reached for something in her pocket and pressed a button. **_**She really pushed it, **_**Leon realized. **_

_**"Here, catch!" she quipped, throwing him something from her seat, "Better get a move on! See you around!" She waved, and the helicopter began to fly away into the sunrise. **_

_**Leon dangled what appeared to be Ada's jet ski keys with a teddy bear attached to them. "Very cute," he muttered sarcastically under his breath, "I guess it's time to go!" The elevator unlocked again, and Leon quickly scooped up the pesetas that Saddler's body had left behind. Then, he made a mad dash for the elevator; he, Ashley, and Audrey had to get out of there! **_

* * *

Down below, Ashley and I silently waited for Leon to get back from whatever he was going to investigate up above us. A little while ago, we had seen Ada jump from one platform to the other, but we didn't comment on it. "Audrey?" Ashley asked, staring at me.

"Yeah?"

"Did you really mean all that stuff you said before?"

"Back in the lab? Yeah, I did. I meant every single word. I'm so sorry for kidnapping you. To tell you the truth, I didn't know what I was doing."

"I don't know what the _hell _you were thinking, either!"

"Honestly, I wasn't really thinking at all."

"That's for sure!" I rolled my eyes; I had accepted that Ashley wouldn't forgive me, so she didn't need to rub it in my face every two seconds.

Two seconds later, my communicator beeped, and Ashley glared at me. I stepped away from her to take the call, and I saw it was Wesker. Hidden behind his mysterious sunglasses as always, he began to speak to me. "Agent Wong has successfully retrieved the sample," he informed me, "Where's your current location? I'll send a chopper to bring you back to headquarters."

I glanced at Ashley, who was glancing up at the sky, and I hesitated in answering. "Audrey?" Wesker asked insistently. I took a deep breath.

"Actually…" I started cautiously, "I won't be returning to headquarters." Wesker's sunglasses hid most of his facial expression, but I was sure it was that of skepticism.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked, as if I had just let out a disgusting swear word.

"I said I won't be returning to headquarters," I repeated, "I'm sorry, Wesker, but I've had it with Umbrella, Tricell, whatever it is now. I don't want to be a part of any more of your scheming. It's cost me too much already."

Silence from the other end. I wondered if Albert Wesker had a hidden temper, and if he did, would he use it on me? I hoped not. To my surprise, he kept his cool, never taking off those damn sunglasses. Instead, he _smiled_, which was definitely strange.

"You want to leave Umbrella?" he asked calmly, "Why on earth would you do that? Don't you appreciate the new life I've given you? I've healed you, and you thank me by wanting to leave?"

"Yeah, and you also made me lose my mind. Like I said, it's over Wesker." Still no crazy anger like I'd expected. That smile remained on his face.

"If that's what you want, dear heart," he decided, "You can leave. I won't stop you." _Dear heart? _I thought, perplexed at not only that pet name, but also his calm demeanor. After all this, he was just letting me go?

"You…you won't?" I asked cautiously, wondering whether I should scream with joy or feel suspicious over his lack of persuasion in trying to get me to stay.

"Of course not," he replied, still smiling, and I decided something was definitely up, though I didn't know what.

"Well, then," I sighed, "Thank you, Wesker."

"It is unfortunate that you should depart at the dawn of a new era. But I hope our paths will cross again one day, Audrey Fagan." _I hope they don't, _I thought silently, _If I can help it. _

"Goodbye, Wesker," I said to him one last time before flipping my communicator off for good. _Well, that was easy! _I thought, pocketing the device and making my way over to Ashley.

"I'm done with those Umbrella freaks forever," I announced to her, but before she could respond, Leon came speeding down the elevator and looked a little disheveled.

"What's wrong?" I asked just as Ashley gasped, "Leon!"

Leon grabbed our hands as he exclaimed, "We have to get off this island now! It's gonna blow any minute!"


	18. Going to Sleep in Heaven

Second to last chapter! I'm nearly at the end now! :( So here's the chapter I feel like is the opposite of the opening chapter, "Waking Up in Hell." Don't forget to read and review! And if you want me to write a sequel, once again, let me know!

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Audrey is mine.

* * *

"It's gonna _what_?" Ashley shrieked, her voice raising a few octaves as we ducked into an underground tunnel next to us. The ground began to shake around us, causing me to lose my footing. We were all running faster than we had ever run before, and it seemed like this passageway never ended. Up ahead, Leon jumped down to the ground below, and then caught us one by one.

"Hurry!" I cried, and we sprinted even faster until we arrived at a small dock, where a jet ski waited for us. Leon fished for something in his pocket: the keys! He jumped onto the front seat, started the engine, and waited while Ashley and I climbed on next. The president's daughter wrapped her arms around Leon's waist, and I wrapped my arms around hers.

"Hang on, sweethearts!" Leon told us, and we gulped as he began steering the jet ski through the tunnel. I had only been on a jet ski once, and that was when I had gone to Mexico with my family for summer vacation. At that time, I hadn't gone nearly as fast as we were going now. Then again, we weren't trying to beat an unspoken time limit. In front of me, Ashley yelped as Leon made a few sharp turns through some overpasses, narrowly avoiding slamming into the metal or the rocks up ahead. We rapidly approached a rock that looked like a diving board. "Leon!" I cried instinctively.

"Don't worry, I've got it!" he assured us, and he accelerated until he glided across the rock. We fell for a few seconds before safely touching the water below us. The whole time, small explosions took place next to us, until more deafening bombings could be heard outside.

_Whoosh! _Something didn't sound right. Ashley picked up on this, too, because we both suddenly turned around to see large waves rushing towards us. "Oh, shit!" I cursed out loud.

"Waves!" Ashley cried frantically, "Behind us!"

"I know!" Leon called back, "Just hold on!" He accelerated even more now until we were traveling at maximum speed. We all held on even tighter as Leon dodged falling rocks and worked to keep us ahead of the waves. Water was rushing around us now, and I had to close my eyes to block it out. He made even sharper turns in the tunnel and avoided more falling rocks. Some came very close to striking the jet ski, making Ashley whimper. Larger explosions greeted us as we neared the end of the tunnel. As we finally emerged outside, the island exploded all at once, the giant waves sending us flying forward into the early morning. We sailed quite a few feet in the air, our stomachs rising up to our throats, before striking the water once again.

"Ahh!" Ashley and I cried, both of us getting thrown off the jet ski. Just like the lake, I hit the water with a deafening bang, and I felt myself sink a few feet underwater. Thankfully, I had held my breath just before going under. I opened my eyes, using the rays of sunlight reflecting into the ocean to try and find Ashley. I swam around for a few minutes, my lungs feeling ready to burst, as I spotted her. She was a few feet below me, and I was getting ready to approach her when she began kicking up to the surface. I swam over to her and caught up with her, grabbing her hand so we wouldn't lose each other.

Just as we surfaced, we heard Leon calling our names. "Ashley! Audrey! Where are you?" Our heads pushed upwards to the surface, and we took big gulps of air as we shook water out of our faces.

"Leon!" we cried, waving, "Over here!" He turned around, and began driving the jet ski towards us. We swam a little bit before he took each of our hands and pulled us back onto the boat.

"Come on," he said to us, "Let's go home." I sighed with relief.

"Sounds like a great idea!" Ashley also sighed, "Mission accomplished! Right, Leon?"

"Not quite. I still have to get you home safe."

"I can't wait to get back on dry land," I said to the others once Leon started taking off. I glanced over my shoulder and watched the smoke begin to clear away over the destroyed island. Thank God that was over! There were too many horrible memories there, for me and Ashley, and probably Leon too.

A little while later, Ashley broke the silence. "So," she started, addressing Leon, "After you take me back to my place, how about we do some overtime?" _I know she didn't just go there, _I thought to myself, wondering what Leon would say.

"Sorry," he declined politely, and I bet he was thinking of Ada. I had seen the way he looked at her when we ran into her at the castle. Wherever she was now, and whatever she was doing, I hope she pulled through. I debated whether or not I should tell Leon what Ada told me, and I ultimately decided against it. Let him find out for himself eventually.

"Somehow, I knew you'd say that," Ashley replied jokingly, "But, it doesn't hurt to ask, you know? So, who was that woman, anyway?" I realized she was referring to Ada.

"Why do you ask?" Leon inquired.

"Come on, tell us," Ashley insisted.

Leon sighed. "She's like a part of me I can't let go," he told us, "Let's leave it at that." _If only you knew how Ada really felt about you, _I thought as we continued to cruise across the ocean.

We had been traveling for a few more hours when I broke the silence this time. "I spoke with Wesker before, Leon," I informed him.

"And?" he asked.

"I've severed the ties. I told him straight up that I didn't want to work for him anymore. So I'm a free woman now."

"I'm glad you finally figured out what he's really like. Just be careful when we get home, okay?"

"Okay," I replied, nodding, understanding that Albert Wesker could be pretty ruthless from what Leon told me. I doubted anything would happen, though; as soon as I returned to the United States, I would somehow find a way to get home, and I wouldn't even have to think about Wesker.

Leon's communicator suddenly beeped, and we wondered who it could be this time. "Hunnigan, is that you?" Leon asked hopefully.

"Finally!" Ingrid Hunnigan replied after all this time, "The line's jack-free!"

"Hey, Hunnigan. No glasses?"

"Forget the glasses. What's the status of the mission?"

"I've rescued the subject. We're returning home."

"You did it, Leon!"

"Thanks. You know, you're kind of cute without the glasses. Give me your number when I get back?"

"May I remind you that you're still on duty?"

"Story of my life."

"Anyway, we'll send a chopper over there to pick you up. Just give us your current location." Leon did, and he hung up with Hunnigan.

* * *

**From my seat in the Organization's chopper, I watched with mounting relief as Leon, Ashley, and Audrey sailed across the ocean on my jet ski. Now, I could relax for a little bit after my harrowing mission. I opened the briefcase that was sitting on my lap and stared at the two samples I had retrieved: the Master sample and a Subordinate sample. Too bad I couldn't tell Leon I was never working for Wesker, and that I was only planning on sending him a fake sample of Las Plagas. The real sample was going to the Organization, just like I knew it would. I closed my eyes and sighed, feeling the morning sun against my face. **

**"Good work, Agent Wong," the pilot of the chopper congratulated me, "You tricked that bastard with no problems." **

**I looked up at him. "Thank you," I replied, "But Wesker isn't stupid. He'll figure out what I've done soon, and the next part of the war will begin." **

**"Well, when it does, we'll be ready for it." I nodded, thinking of nothing else to say, except that I had to prepare for the conflict ahead of us. **_**Leon, **_**I thought to myself, **_**Good luck. I hope we'll meet again one day. **_

* * *

It seemed like hours, but soon, we noticed a helicopter approaching us. "Is that our support?" I asked.

"Yep," Leon replied, "We're going home." We watched while the door to the chopper slid open and a few agents appeared.

"Agent Kennedy!" they shouted, "Glad to see everyone is all right! We're going to send a ladder down to you. Climb up to us."

"Okay!" Leon called back up to them, "Girls, you go ahead." Ashley was the first to go, and I followed her next. As we ascended further and further into the air, I gulped a little bit, but felt relieved when the agents pulled me into the chopper. I glanced at Ashley for a second and wondered if she would turn me in. The agents helped Leon in last, and leaving Ada's jet ski behind, we began heading back towards the United States.

"So," one of the burlier agents began, "Is everyone all right?" All three of us nodded, and then he turned to me.

"Who are you?" he asked. At first, I opened my mouth, but couldn't formulate any words. Ashley, however, did all the talking.

Pointing at me, she snapped, "She's one of the ones who kidnapped me in the first place!" I stared at her in horror; I knew she was rightfully angry with me for what happened, but I didn't think she would rat me out like this.

Suddenly, all of the agents were converging on me, restraining me with handcuffs. I felt myself collide with the far wall of the helicopter while everyone stood over me, waiting for an explanation. "Explain yourself!" the burly agent demanded, balling his hands into a fist.

"I didn't know what I was doing," I argued, but it landed on deaf ears.

"You're telling us you didn't know you were kidnapping the President's daughter? Oh, don't worry. When we return to the States, we're going to take all of you to a hospital. Then, we have a few questions for you." I gulped, but remained handcuffed against the wall for the rest of the ride. An hour later, the agents, who were trying to run a background check on me, not surprisingly didn't find anything.

"Almost like you don't exist," they mumbled under their breaths, but I didn't care. I just closed my eyes to sleep, awaiting my fate for when we returned to the USA. I was only sixteen years old; would they prosecute me like an adult? I didn't want to go to federal prison, and I didn't have any plans to. But it looked like I had no choice now.

"Listen, Audrey," Leon began, "It's going to be okay. They're just going to ask you a few questions for now." I sighed and closed my eyes again, trying to block out all the angry voices around me.

When we arrived back in the States over twelve hours later, the agents kept true to their word; as soon as we landed, they carried all three of us to the nearest hospital. Nurses wheeled all of us into different rooms, and as soon as I arrived in mine, I felt them strip my clothes off and dress me in a white hospital gown. One of them wrapped herself around me in a bear hug, since I had heard them mumbling something about possible hypothermia from the two times I had fallen into freezing cold water. Naturally, they discovered Wesker's virus in my body, and they attempted to give me treatments for that, too. So that was how I found myself hooked up to multiple machines at once. The action of the last day finally took its toll on me, and I found myself falling asleep due to the influence of the different painkillers being pumped into me.

* * *

Later on in the night, I heard something that eerily reminded me of my first moments in _Resident Evil 4_: breathing like the Regenerator I had faced in the jail cell. I shifted in my sleep a little bit, trying to block out any foreign sounds so that I could take a nice, long rest. My chest rose up and down, and the soft beeping of my IV put me at ease. However, somewhere in the middle of my adventure, I had somehow developed hypersensitivity to my surroundings, so I opened my eyes. As soon as I did that, the breathing continued, so I realized it was definitely not my imagination. My breathing picked up, and my heart beat in anticipation.

It was the sound of a silencer being attached to a gun that finally caused me to turn around. "Shit!" I cursed, rolling out of the way as the mysterious attacker pulled the trigger, blowing a hole through my bed. I tumbled to the floor, panting and panicking now. I had to get the authorities; someone had just tried to kill me in my sleep! But who? As I detached my IV from my arm, I looked up at my almost-killer: a man wearing all black, with all sorts of weapons attached to his tactical vest. He wore a helmet on his head and a gas mask over his face, which had the scariest-looking red eyes ever. I gasped when I realized who it was. _HUNK! _I thought, terrified. HUNK, otherwise known as, "Mr. Death". I had read a little bit of his file during my time with Umbrella, and to be honest, he scared me with his cold, silent attitude, plus the fact that I didn't even know his real name. But what the hell was he doing here? And trying to kill me in the middle of the night?

HUNK quietly approached me from where I was laying, picked me up by the arm, and tossed me back onto my bed, taking a knife out of his pocket as I regained myself. "HELP!" I cried, but HUNK quickly covered my mouth to stifle my screams. In the meantime, I reached out and kicked him in the stomach, sending him crashing into the wall across from me. While he was dazed, I leaped up and made my way towards the hallway, but he quickly recovered and sprinted after me. I felt him grab my waist from behind, and I whirled around and began to struggle, putting up a pretty good fight all while trying to wrestle the knife out of his hand. Somehow, my adrenaline kept kicking in, and I managed to steal his knife away from him. I punched him, turned, and sprinted into the hallway all while screaming bloody murder. Many people looked at me as if I had lost my mind, which was backed up because of HUNK's knife in my hand. Admittedly, I hadn't learned too much knife combat, but that didn't matter now; anything to save myself.

While I ran, I continued to scream, hoping that people would spot HUNK and get him as far away from me as humanly possible. The unmistakable sound of a TMP greeted my ears from behind me; I didn't want to look, but I forced myself to anyway. HUNK was in the hallway now, and he was chasing me while shooting anyone who had heard me scream. Of course, I wasn't thinking too clearly right now; the adrenaline pushed me forward, and I was relieved when I spotted an elevator. There were a few people getting in it, and the doors were starting to close.

"No!" I shouted, "Wait!" The doors continued to shut, and because I was only thinking of survival, I jammed my elbow into the small opening, causing the doors to open again. I shoved my way inside and began frantically jamming the button for the lobby as the doors closed slowly again. HUNK appeared before the doors could close all the way, though, and like I did, he stuck his hand in between the small sliver, grabbing my wrist in an attempt to drag me back out of the elevator. _I am not dying tonight! _I thought, reaching for the knife and slitting his hand. "Ooh!" he gasped, withdrawing his hand, and I sighed with relief when the doors shut and began transporting everyone to their respective floors.

The bloody knife shook visibly in my hands because I was gripping it, and everyone was staring at me. Nobody bothered to ask what the hell had just happened, except for one woman who asked if everything was all right. "No," I replied, "Someone call the police! There's a man in here trying to kill me! Someone in all black and a gas mask!" Now that the adrenaline rush was wearing off, I was able to think clearly again, and I wiped HUNK's blood off the knife. _That was fucking terrifying! _I thought, _No wonder Wesker never liked him. _Suddenly, an even more horrifying thought crossed my mind now that I wasn't running frantically from anyone at the moment.

_Oh, CRAP! _I realized, _Was Wesker the one who _sent _HUNK to kill me? Shit, shit, shit! I should have known he was planning something with that creepy smile of his! Krauser was right! He wasn't just letting me go; he would rather have me die than leave Umbrella, especially with what I know. Fuck! What am I going to do now? _

_Ding ding! _The elevator opened at the lobby, and I squeezed myself in with the crowd and looked around cautiously, wondering where HUNK was. Was he waiting for me in a secluded corner somewhere, just waiting with his TMP? I looked down at myself and realized I looked way too conspicuous. I followed a line of nurses heading towards the operating room (keeping myself hidden the whole time), and they all lowered their masks over their noses and pulled on all sorts of sanitary items, such as gloves, robes, caps, etc. One of them looked at me disdainfully.

"You need to wear protective gear when you're in here," she said forcefully, looking at my hospital gown. If I hadn't been so scared, I would have bitched at her for her attitude, but instead felt grateful when she tossed me a laboratory coat, cap, gloves, and a face mask.

"Go change," she commanded, "Then you can come back and help out." I nodded and hid behind a curtain, hurriedly slipping the coat over my gown, shoes on my feet, and the gloves, cap, and mask over my face. I was not returning to the OR as planned; I was going to find a way over to the police station, even if nobody in that elevator called the police like I had asked them to.

When I entered the large waiting room on the lobby, I suddenly thought of an idea that would possibly stall HUNK from killing me for now. "Excuse me," I said to one of the receptionists behind the desk, "I was in the OR and I started to feel a little faint. Would it be all right if I got an escort back to my car outside?"

The receptionist looked up at me. "All right, then," she replied, "Just let me see your pass and you can go."

"Actually," I cut in impatiently, "I'm in a hurry! I need to leave now!"

"I'm sorry, but I need to see your ID. It will only take a few seconds."

"I DON'T HAVE A FEW SECONDS!" I snapped so loud that everyone swiveled his or her head to face me. The urgency in my voice must have alerted the receptionist to my situation, because she suddenly assigned one of the security guards to escort me outside. We walked hurriedly, with me wondering again where HUNK was, and if someone had reached the cops yet. After the shoot out a few floors above the lobby, someone had to say something. It seemed that someone finally did, because piercing alarms suddenly rang, and up ahead, whole squadrons of police officers burst through the front doors. They ran everywhere, looking for HUNK while I pulled one of them aside and gave my statement. They didn't leave me alone for an instant, even taking the knife away from me and asking who it belonged to.

It was agony to wait, but after twenty frustrating minutes, the police finally apprehended HUNK. He must have been hunting for me all over the hospital, and the cops had finally caught up with him. They dragged him to the nearest cop car, where they promised to keep a close eye on him. I breathed a huge sigh of relief now that that was over. I remained where I was while the police went to go talk to a few witnesses around the hospital.

"Are you okay, young lady?" an unfamiliar voice asked as a man sat down next to me, "You look awful."

I turned to face the man. "Can I help you?" I asked, "No, I'm not okay, thank you very much."

"I just noticed you looked shaken and I wanted to comfort you while this whole mess got sorted out." I stared at him, but didn't say a word. I wasn't really in the mood to talk, and it wasn't like I could talk to Leon or Ashley; they had been moved to a separate building of the hospital. The man sat with me anyway, studying me the whole time while the police got everything situated. They approached me and asked me questions every now and then, mostly about HUNK, and I answered as briefly as possible. The man to my left didn't seem to mind too much, though as soon as the cops were gone, I shifted my gaze down to his hand.

"Is everything all right, miss?" he asked, noticing the way I was staring.

"No," I gasped, "That scar on your hand…" I didn't finish, for something dawned on me in that moment.

"Stay away from me!" I snapped, looking at HUNK's true face for the first time. _Whoever they arrested in the gas mask before must have been a decoy! HUNK somehow managed to fool the entire police department! Damn it! _And using a trick I had learned from Krauser, I reached for one of HUNK's flash grenades and slammed it to the ground, ignoring the screams from everyone around me as I made my quick escape through the hospital doors. I had to warn the police, tell them they arrested the wrong person.

I was racing down the empty street, trying to catch up with the police car that had someone dressed in HUNK's outfit. From behind me, I heard him chase me, so I took a few sharp, sudden turns to try and throw him off, but he always managed to catch up with me. We were no longer anywhere near the city, but near a few cliffs that overlooked the Atlantic Ocean. I skidded to a stop, standing just barely on the edge that meant if I took one step, I would fall. HUNK slowly approached me, taking out his trusty TMP, since he no longer had his knife, thanks to me.

He was silent once more, though the smirk on his face showed. It was clear he wanted to take care of the mission first before anything else, and that mission was to end my life. He moved closer, knowing that I had nowhere to run at this point. I kept glancing down at the water below me, even as Mr. Death reloaded his TMP and pointed it in my direction.

I looked down at the water again and I declared to no one in particular, "Sorry, but I'm not dying tonight! For you or for Umbrella! Fuck you, Wesker!" And with that, I turned and jumped from the cliff.

"No!" HUNK shouted, running to the edge and staring down at me as I fell. My arms flailed in the air around me while I tried to counteract the gravity that was dragging me downwards. At the last minute, I spotted rocks, and I prayed I would hit the water instead of those. This was probably suicide, but I'd rather die like this than at Wesker's hand. He wasn't going to get me tonight. He sure wasn't.

The air rushed around me, just like the time I had fallen off the bridge back in the village. I had never gone cliff diving, so it was definitely a new experience, albeit disturbing at the same time when this was saving my life. _Bam! _I collided with the rocks with great force and instantly felt a snapping sensation in my back. _My spinal cord! _I thought, terrified.

HUNK would not jump down after me. I knew he wouldn't. But it didn't matter now. I was dying. My back burned like it'd never burned before, and everyone's faces flashed before my eyes. Mom, Alexis, Randy, Dad, Leon, Ada, Ashley, and Krauser.

The ocean washed up onto the shore gently, and I felt my body being dragged into the rip tides. I didn't fight back; there was no need to. The pain in my back would pass, and this would all be over soon. I cried at the realization that I hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to my family. The last conversation I had had with them was far from pleasant, and I wished I could take it all back. "Mom, Alexis, Randy," I whispered, my back caving in and my body moving unnaturally, "I'm so sorry for everything. I love all of you so much, and I'll miss you." My tears mixed with those of the ocean.

"Audrey," a familiar voice whispered into my ear, and when I looked up through my blurred vision, I saw none other than Jack Krauser. No, he wasn't really there. It was just my delirious vision. But when I blinked, he was there, in all his glowing, ghostly glory. The waves receded, and I was suddenly back on the rocks, well away from the ocean.

"J-Jack?" I choked, "You crazy bastard!"

He laughed sadly. "Still being yourself even after you snapped your back," he teased, "Looks like you're going to be joining me in a few minutes."

"What will happen after that?"

"I don't know, kid. But we'll figure it out. We owe each other anyway, right?"

I grimaced; the pain was spreading to the rest of my body. "I-I don't have much time," I whispered, "There are so many people I want to talk to. To tell them I love them."

"Shh," Krauser shushed me, stroking my hair, even though I was sure I was imagining it after the island incident, "Just sleep, Audrey. It'll pass." I cried again.

"Just sleep." His presence disappeared, though I wasn't sure it was there in the first place. And I took his advice, closing my eyes for one last time.


	19. Homecoming

All right! This is it, guys. The final chapter of "Resident Evil: The Other Side". It's a little short, but I thought it was a nice way to wrap up the story. So, enjoy! And don't forget to read and review! And yep, I've decided to write a sequel. I've been planning it for a while, but I think I'm just going to go ahead and write it.

**DISCLAIMER: **The Fagan family, Jack the cat, and Randy are the only characters that belong to me. Everyone else belongs to Capcom.

* * *

Silence now. My pain was over. My back felt fine. I moved through the darkness, my eyes refusing to open. It was pulling me deeper and deeper until I didn't feel anything anymore. This was death, and I realized it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. I felt strangely at peace with myself. But if this was really death, and I was really going to heaven, then what the hell was all that banging that suddenly reached my ears? Was heaven supposed to be this noisy?

"Audrey!" voices cried, "Audrey!" Was that Krauser, coming to join me in death at last? I strained my ears to listen, and I realized it was my family. What were they doing here with me? They should have been alive and well back at home.

The banging increased in volume. "Audrey!" It was Mom. "Open this door right now!"

Door? What door? I felt my eyelids flutter, and as I slowly opened them, lights suddenly came into focus. I couldn't see anything, but the banging was suddenly accompanied by someone trying to unlock the same door.

"Audrey?" a male voice shouted, "Audrey, can you hear us?" That sounded like Randy!

"Please come out!" another voice pleaded. _Alexis! That must mean… _

My eyes snapped fully open now, and I gasped in comprehension; I was back in my room, in my own house! Jack was sitting next to me on my bed, meowing sadly. I looked around quickly. Everything looked good. No, scratch that. Everything looked _great_! I was out of the game and back where I belonged.

_My family! _I thought, leaping off my bed and bolting for the door. They were just about to break the door down when I hastily unlocked it and threw it open. "Mom!" I cried.

"Audrey!" Mom shrieked, looking at me when a relieved expression on her face. As soon as I met her gaze, I launched myself at her and wrapped her in a bear hug. I hadn't seen her since I started _Resident Evil 4_, and I was glad to see her. She stroked my hair and buried her head into my shoulders.

"Don't you ever scare us like that again!" she scolded, pulling away and studying me.

I sighed. "I'm sorry, Mom," I apologized, hugging her tightly again.

"Geesh, from the way you're hugging me, you act like you haven't seen us in months!"

"You have no idea," I mumbled under my breath, but I wasn't sure she heard me. I finished hugging her and then turned to Alexis next. I hugged her the same way I did Mom, and she laughed and cried at the same time.

"Where have you been, little sis?" she asked, teasing me, "Immersed in _Resident Evil 4_?"

"You don't even know," I replied, sighing, and she laughed. She stepped aside to reveal Randy, who stood awkwardly away from the rest of us. He and I locked eyes, and Mom and Alexis waited silently, wondering what each of us would do. I was sure I shocked both of them when I walked over and embraced my mom's boyfriend. He seemed thunderstruck as well.

"Well, this is different," Randy commented.

I looked up at him. "I know," I responded, "I want to apologize for how I've been treating you for the last two months. Somewhere in the time I was in my room, I realized I was wrong to be so rude. I see you make Mom happy, so if she's happy, then I'm happy." Randy didn't say anything at first, but the small smile that tugged at his lips did the talking for him.

"Oh, Audrey!" Mom cried, hugging me again, with Alexis and Randy joining in, "You've finally decided to accept Randy into our family. I'm so proud of you!"

"Hmm," I moaned in agreement.

"Now, _that's _the Audrey I raised!" I silently hugged everyone again, even tighter this time, as I took in all of their faces after not seeing them for months.

"So, how was _Resident Evil 4_?" Alexis asked me as we all sat outside in the warm sun. Randy and I cooked hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill while she and Mom set the table.

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Hmm," I joked, "How do I put this lightly? It was…_interesting._ Let's just leave it at that." I wasn't quite ready to share my experiences with the rest of the family yet. Hell, would they even believe me?

"Did you make it all the way to the end in one sitting?"

"Yeah, I'd say I did. I also learned so much about the other _Resident Evil _games from this one. Almost like I don't have to play those ones."

"Would you want to play the other ones if given a chance?"

"Maybe someday." I continued to barbecue the burgers and hotdogs silently.

"Well, now that we're going to be a real family soon," Mom announced, "We can all start spending time like one. First thing in the morning, let's go to Six Flags!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Alexis and I chimed in unison. All of us laughed happily.

* * *

_Perhaps I had eaten too much earlier at the barbecue, for I suddenly found myself dreaming of Krauser. We were back on the island where we first met, and he was kissing me vigorously, running his big hands through my hair. He got stronger and stronger every minute to the point where it was starting to hurt. He looked down at me, but when he spoke, his voice changed. "Dear heart," he said, and he sounded exactly like Wesker, "You cannot hide from Umbrella forever. That part of you will always lie in shadow. I look forward to our next encounter." His face changed until he morphed into Albert Wesker himself, who finally took off those damn sunglasses _Wake up, Audrey! _I yelled myself, _Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!

Gasping, I opened my eyes and sat up in my bed, the darkness of my room intensifying my breathing. My neck throbbed, which I thought was odd. I rolled over and turned my lamp on, letting light into the room. It appeared I was still hyper vigilant, because I didn't dare move a muscle, in case something was going to pop out of nowhere. When it was apparent nothing would jump out and scare me, I began to relax, even though my neck still pulsed really badly. I decided to check it out in my mirror, so I threw the covers off of me and approached the mirror that was attached to my closet. What I saw surprised me.

The bite marks the Regenerator had given me on my first day in the game were still there. The scars had healed for the most part, but there were still two visible lined just below my jaw. _I carried over all my injuries back to this world? _I thought, shocked, _If I still have these marks, then that must mean that…oh, shit! I still have Wesker's virus in me! _

"That's right, dear heart," a voice in my head suddenly taunted, and when I looked into the mirror again, I saw myself, but I looked wrong. My eyes were bloodshot, and my skin was extremely pale. The knowing smirk I wore on my face in the reflection was also creepy. I gasped. Was this what I looked like when I was under Wesker's spell?

I blinked a few times, but the reflection of myself as one of Umbrella's monsters wouldn't go away. When I tilted my head to the left, so did my reflection; when I flexed the fingers in my right hand, so did she. A horrible realization hit me: we were one and the same. I was part of the virus, and the virus was part of me. For the rest of the night, I continued to gape at myself in the mirror while my other side smirked at me, always staying hidden in the shadows, ready to unleash itself at any time.

* * *

And that's a wrap! I'd like to thank everyone who has supported this story during the time I have written it. It was so much fun writing this story, and I'm glad it turned out the way it did. I love writing, so this was definitely an enriching experience! As mentioned before, keep an eye out for the sequel. Look for the title, "Resident Evil: Mistaken Identity" in a couple of days or so.

Once again, thank you, guys!


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